Dexter Mason Ferry was born in Lowville, New York on August 8, 1833.  On April 1, 1856, along with two partners, the firm known as Gardner, Ferry & Church was founded.

Upon the retirements of Mr. Gardner and Mr. Church, he founded D. M. Ferry & Co. in  Detroit, Michigan.  He is credited invented the "commission box," which is a seed rack for retail display.  He was also one of the first to utilize brightly colored seed packets.  D. M. Ferry died in 1907.

As an aside, and not necessarily significant to the D. M. Ferry Seed Company, is that an interesting connection to the Victory Seed Company exists.  In 1910, D. M. Ferry & Company commissioned a distant cousin of mine, W. Herbert ("Buck") Dunton, to paint "Settlers and Seeds".  William Herbert Dunton (1878-1936) was an important Western illustrator, painter, muralist, lithographer and his work is much sought after.

The company merged with the California based seed company, C. C. Morse Company in 1930 to become the Ferry-Morse Seed Company.  They relocated to Kentucky in 1959.

In 1981, the Ferry-Morse Seed Company became part of France’s Groupe Limagrain.  According to the company, Groupe Limagrain is considered to be the largest breeder-producer of horticultural seed in the world.