Our Story
Behind the Name
William “Bill” R. Nicholson, a man dedicated to people, agriculture, innovation, and integrity, is the inspiration behind Nicholson Tec™.
Bill was born in Primghar, Iowa to Iowa businessman R.S. Nicholson and home economist, Elizabeth (Colby) Nicholson. It was during his formative years that Bill began helping at the Nicholson & Edwards Grain Co. His job allowed him to interact with farmers, learn about their operations, talk with them about the new technologies they were working with, and what results they were experiencing.
Given his experience in the family business, it was no wonder he chose to pursue a degree in agriculture from Iowa State University. This opened many new doors for Bill to learn about science and technology as it related to U.S. farmers.
Upon graduation from ISU, Bill was hired by Archer Daniels Midland, where he quickly became the manager of a single ADM grain facility in north central Illinois. Very soon, ADM moved Bill into multiple site management, where he also spent time teaching area farmers how to utilize hedging and forward pricing to maximize farm revenue.
After some years, Bill was offered a position with Pioneer Hi-Bred International at their corporate campus in Johnston, Iowa, where he assumed charge of all specialty grain contracts for Pioneer’s domestic and international markets. Bill interfaced daily with multi-state producers, end users, and manufacturers. His outgoing personality and deep understanding of both the producers’ and manufacturers’ goals made him a respected and trusted voice. It’s no wonder Pioneer sent Bill to Japan in the 1990s to meet with soy food manufacturers and assure them that the new Roundup Ready technology would not infiltrate Pioneer’s food supply chain. Pioneer maintained this position through their on-going non-GMO specialty grain production.
While at Pioneer, Bill was surrounded by many of the most distinguished scientists in agriculture. These men and women shared the new ag technologies on the horizon with him. Bill, in turn, helped the producers he worked with learn how they could use them in their own operations.
After a long, rewarding career, Bill and his wife Rose retired to Wenona, Illinois. He spent his retirement “career” golfing, playing cards, and continuing daily interaction with friends in the ag industry who fed his never-ending thirst to learn about newest ag related technology. Bill Nicholson died in October of 2018.