Matt Benson

Benson Farm Incorporated Native Seeds

Moses Lake, WA

August 26, 2024

Matt Benson owns Benson Farm Incorporated (BFI) in Moses Lake, Washington where they grow ecological plants using agricultural practices; they work with customers one on one through a five year process to produce native seeds for restoration projects. Matt started his career working with native seeds by following his father, Jerry Benson, a farmer who was a botanist for Washington State's Department of Wildlife. His father was tasked with mitigating the damage caused by building a dam. He tried a new system when the traditional mitigation strategies created by the Natural Resource Conservation’s (NRC) failed to achieve the desired results. This new system collected native plants for the specific region and multiplied the number of seeds to restore the area. This practice started BFI as it is known today.

At BFI Native Seeds, the Westies toured BFI’s agricultural plots and greenhouses while talking about Matt's contribution to ecological restoration projects. Matt’s job requires a deep understanding of the land in the West and in the Columbia Basin where BFI is located. He commented that the Columbia Basin is a great seed-growing region because it's not very windy, there's great water from Grand Coulee Dam, stable climate, and good soil- which are all controllable features that can be used to produce seeds for native plants on the west side of the Rockies. We were able to learn how Matt produces the seeds, the challenges he faces, and how BFI plans to continue working on restoration projects.

By: Caitlyn Taylor