A history of local agriculture company Keithly-Williams Seeds

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - On Tuesday's weekly Home Grown report, we highlight local agriculture company Keithly-Williams Seeds.

The company started off small with only five employees in Holtville in 1981.

Since then, it has grown to have much more employees, operate in multiple different countries, and expanded into other agricultural practices.

It started off as a seed dealer in the 1980s, but as the company grew, so did the needs of the consumers.

They decided to venture in equipment fabrication and vegetable nurseries.

"At the end of the day, our mission statement is to provide the grower the products that he needs to be successful we were doing that in the early '80s and we're continuing to do that today," said owner Patrick Cooley.

Patrick's son, Elliot Cooley, is the grandson of one of the founders of the company. He describes how it feels to see the company now.

"It makes me really proud to know what they've done and how they've grown things and how we’ve been able to really fill a huge need in the industry," said Elliot.

Patrick has been with the company since the 80s and has seen it get bigger along with our area. 

"As Yuma grew we grew…in 1999 I had 23 full time people working for me here in Yuma and the whole area had exploded for produce," recalled Patrick.

Keithly-Williams Seeds plans to continue to grow in the agriculture industry.