Visiting Chris McCracken, owner, Pine Creek Seed Farm (“PCSF”), quickly reveals the energy, focus and determination of an entrepreneur leading a sustainable, differentiating agricultural company.  The company, located in rural Jersey Shore, PA, sells a large variety of cover crops, forage, turf, wildlife, and native seeds to wholesalers and farmers. Pine Creek Seed Farm offers meticulous cleaning, grading, bagging, labeling, and logistics tailored to customer specifications. Chris, along with his wife Jennifer and his sons Crae and Cody, are planning the next phase of growth, which is an ambitious expansion to coating a variety of seeds, adding value to the products. Coatings can make seeds more drought and disease-resistant, creating more efficient planting for ag producers and growers.

Chris has been in the seed industry since childhood, from detasseling corn to assisting with hybrid corn research and developing sales programs as an adult. With the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 7(a) loan program, Chris purchased back the family business and used an SBA Capital Line of Credit for inventory. Pine Creek has grown from a startup to a profitable multi-million-dollar business with 20 employees and a 41% annual growth rate. The business transitioned from seed fulfillment to a hybrid of service and sales and introduced its own seed corn lineup ReGenAg Seed, hybrids specifically chosen for Pennsylvania and surrounding states.

Chris and the Penn State Small Business Development Center (Penn State SBDC) Director, Tim Keohane, attended the same high school and have known each other for over 30 years. He worked with the Penn State SBDC on financial analysis, projections, business planning, and assumptions for the acquisition and expansion. In the fall of 2023, Chris participated in the Collaborative Industry Partnership at Elizabethtown College. This program involved several senior international business class members researching overseas markets for the future export of coated seeds. The SBDC is working with PCSF to identify sources of capital and finance to fund a plant expansion for a seed coating facility to expand sales and profitability.

The U.S. Small Business Administration awarded Pine Creek the 2024 Small Family-Owned Business of the Year for Eastern Pennsylvania. “It’s an honor to be named SBA’s Eastern Pennsylvania Family-Owned Small Business of the Year,” said Chris. “As a 4th generation seedsman in this family business, I am grateful that we were able to purchase the entire facility and build this ag business from scratch, just as my great-grandfather did. This was only possible with the support and tireless contributions of my wife, Jennifer, and my sons, Crae and Cody (fifth generations). I see both of our sons, granddaughter, twin grandsons and newest grandson arriving in December in line for subsequent generations to continue this venture which would not have been possible without SBA financing, and counseling from Penn State SBDC’s Agriculture Center for Excellence.”