Otto and Marie Pick immigrated to Canada from Czechoslovakia (Bohemia) in 1938. They both came from agricultural backgrounds and initially farmed in southern Ontario. After the war, Otto briefly represented a fledgling seed enterprise and in 1947, established Otto Pick, Agricultural Service, which became the initial legal entity within the PICKSEED Companies Group (the "Group"). This business focused on direct sales of improved forage crop seeds, along with the delivery of the appropriate agronomic technology to Ontario livestock producers.