Since 1981, Rex and Amy Hamilton have been sharing their passion for native seeds.
The first pasture
Rex Hamilton planted his first warm season grass pasture in 1972, shortly after warm season grasses were “invented” for forage. (Of course, bison grazed these grasses long before humans ever thought of planting forages.) By the 1970s, fescue grass became the standard forage—a non-native, cool season grass. But Rex realized that planting pastures of warm season grasses really made sense.
In 1981, he married Amy, and they began to harvest and sell seed of the warm season grasses under the company name of Hamilton Seeds.
Remnant prairies
In search of seed to harvest for the newly created Conservation Reserve Program’s (CRP) efforts to reduce soil erosion during the mid-1980s, Rex and Amy found themselves exploring Missouri’s remnant prairies. These unplowed grasslands contained a multitude of beautiful native wildflowers, which led Rex and Amy to harvest wildflower seeds and create a wildflower meadow in their backyard.
This was 1987, and they had to harvest the seeds by hand under the hot summer sun. The Hamiltons added wildflower seed to their sales inventory and planted tiny plots for seed production. Seeds from that first plot led to a little bigger plot and eventually several acres.
Inviting the wildlife
It just makes sense that native wildlife and pollinator species would like, and even prefer, native plants and ecosystems. In 1989, Rex and Amy found themselves establishing native plants on their property for the benefit of wildlife. While doing native plantings, they gained an understanding of restoring savannas, woodlands, and glades, which they worked to restore across their farm.
Diverse grasslands
A unique learning experience came with the planting of a diverse native grassland for the purpose of grazing. For many years, Rex and Amy’s cow herd had grazed cool season grasses in one pasture and warm season grasses in the next. One day, the idea dawned to recreate a native grassland like the bison would’ve grazed.
In 2012, with the help of an NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant and the Missouri Department of Conservation, we planted first diverse native grassland. It has been a success from the forage standpoint as well as wildlife, pollinators, and soil health.
A new generation
In 2019, a new chapter began as Rex and Amy’s son, Colt Hamilton, took the reins of leadership. Rex and Amy now enjoy focusing their attention on diverse native grasslands, improving the health of the land and streams, and working with cattle.
The entire Hamilton Native Outpost team contributes knowledge about natives, seed production, and quality customer service. To this day, we retain the same passion for native plants, using them for forage, landscaping, wildlife, and restoration. Our staff still loves to share their expertise in establishing native plants from seed.
“Without dedicated individuals like these, businesses cannot succeed.”
Rex Hamilton
Founders
Rex & Amy
Rex and Amy love to think about native ecosystems and improving the land. They spend their days living on and learning about native grasslands, whether it be moving the cows, cutting cedar sprouts, planting Prairie Cordgrass, or teaching their grandkids about plants.
Meet the crew
CEO, Seed Production & Personnel
Colt Hamilton
Seed Harvest & Cleaning
Mike Motzkus
Sales & Marketing
Elizabeth Steele
Bookkeeping
Amber Hamilton
Sales
Sara Ice
Maintenance/Fabrication
Chris Kuechler
Seed Harvest & Cleaning
Chris L
Seed Harvest & Cleaning
James Sigman
Seed Cleaning
Ben
Seed Production
Larry Hamilton
Marketing
Jenna Asher
Sales
Kristina Kelley
Don’t be fooled by her soft-spoken demeanor. Kristina is sharp as a tack and a great asset to our sales team. Her organizational skills keep the sales staff running like a well-oiled machine. She’s also advocating to adopt an official office cat.
Design
Brooke Hamilton
Brooke, Rex and Amy’s daughter, is the owner of Grindstone Design Studio. She’s responsible for the look of our catalog and videos and has taken many of the photographs of our plants and landscapes.