From Oregon’s Willamette Valley to the Western Seed stage, Jake Metzger proves that honesty, humility and hunger to learn still grow the strongest roots.
When Jake Metzger’s name was called at the 2025 Western Seed Association (WSA) meeting in Kansas City, he was completely caught off guard. As the crowd gathered and phones started to rise, he realized something was up.
“I noticed people gathering around and getting their phones out,” Metzger says. “I was completely surprised.”
That surprise turned into pride as Metzger, a Salem, Oregon native, accepted the WSA’s 2025 Young Seedsman Award, honoring his leadership and promise in the industry’s next generation.
“It’s super humbling,” he says. “For a young guy stepping into this industry, a lot of people have been doing it a long time, and so it’s humbling to be recognized from that aspect. I have a lot of respect for those that have been doing it for so long.”
A Family Legacy Grown from Oregon Soil
Metzger’s path into seed wasn’t a coincidence — it’s a family tradition.
“I grew up in the production part of the Willamette Valley grass seed industry,” he says. “Grandpa was farming grass seed. My dad’s in the vegetable seed industry.”
That early exposure inspired him to study agricultural business at Oregon State University.
“I went to Oregon State, got an ag business degree, and from there stepped into the production side of our company, working locally with growers, contracting acres,” he says. “I stepped into sales at that point about two years ago.”
Today, Metzger represents Landmark Seed Company, headquartered in Tangent, Oregon. The company specializes in cool-season grasses including turf-type tall fescues, bluegrasses, bentgrasses and fine fescues, serving both domestic and international customers.
“We’re focused on that higher-end sod material, landscape material, as well,” Metzger explains. “We work through distributors around the country and internationally. Anything from sports fields to parks to golf courses and home lawns; you can find our stuff in a lot of different venues, big venues in the country and around the world.”
A Relationship Business
For Metzger, success in seed starts and ends with one principle: communication.
“Just being transparent, open, communication, honest — those are the core values of really any business structure,” he says. “Keeping an open dialog is key in a lot of relationships. It’s a relationship business.”
Those relationships form the foundation of the WSA’s culture — something Metzger has come to deeply value.
“There’s a lot of tradition here at the Western in Kansas City,” he says. “Having this award at a young age is an honor. It’s humbling.”
Lessons from the Next Generation
As one of the youngest voices at Landmark and in the WSA network, Metzger knows what it feels like to walk into a room full of veterans.
“It can be daunting,” he says. “You don’t know a lot of people. This is my third or fourth year, and each year you build more relationships. You start recognizing more people, and you can build from there.”
He encourages other young professionals to push past hesitation and lean into connection.
“Reach out, build relationships, make connections,” he says. “It’s really a relationship business.”
His advice for others entering the field is simple.
“It has to go back to honesty,” he says. “If you can’t have an open dialog, it makes it hard to do business. Be bold, confident in what you know, and also humble in what you don’t know. Be hungry to learn. There are a lot of people who’ve been doing it for many years — dig into what they’ve learned, their wisdom, and hope that they share it with you.”
