Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. (NYSE: PHB), announced today that it has signed an agreement in principle to acquire 40 acres of land in southern Illinois for expansion of the
company's soybean seed conditioning and packaging capacity. If things go as planned, a $10 million state-of-the art soybean seed facility will be built on the site in Hamilton County north of McLeansboro, Ill., near the intersection of I-64 and Hwy 242. A construction timeline is yet to be set, but it could begin as early as Fall, 1999.

Once completed, the facility will employ 15 full-time and 15 part-time people. Pioneer will pay premiums to area farmers who contract to grow proprietary soybean seed in the Group IV and V maturates. The company will contract over 50,000 acres with those farmers to reach an annual capacity for the location of 2 million bags of soybean seed.

A similar Pioneer soybean conditioning plant is under construction in Woodhull, Ill. That construction followed the building of the 2 million unit soybean facility in Cherokee, Iowa, in 1997.
"We're challenged to stay ahead of the rapidly growing demand for Pioneer soybean seed," said Mark Batchelder, Pioneer director for soybean production operations. "It's a great challenge to have."

A consistent yield advantage over competitive varieties has fueled the growth. In 1998, Pioneer leader soybeans with the Roundup Ready gene held a 2.1 bushel yield advantage over competitive Roundup Ready products, based on nearly 4,000 comparisons. Pioneer has been the leading soybean seed brand in North America for nine years. In that time, the company has more than doubled its market share. Pioneer looked at several locations in southern Illinois before deciding the Hamilton County site best met the company's needs. The criteria included site size, convenient transportation access, proximity to high quality growing environments, and a favorable local economic climate. "This is a terrific site," said Batchelder. "The Hamilton County Economic
Development Commission and the Hamilton County Board of Supervisors were very helpful in the site selection process."

In addition to building new facilities to meet demand, Pioneer has expanded and upgraded existing soybean facilities. Commercial Pioneer soybean seed production facilities serving the North American Corn Belt are located at LeRoy, Litchfield, and Woodhull, Ill.; Tipton, Ind.; Cherokee, Hedrick, and Renwick, Iowa; Jackson, Minn.; Wahpeton, N.D.; Grand Rapids, Ohio; and Chatham, Ontario, Canada. In Illinois, Pioneer also has a soybean and wheat parent seed facility at Shelbyville, seed corn production facilities at Princeton, Woodhull, Utica, Good Hope, and St. Joseph; research centers at Champaign, Hamel, LaSalle, Macomb, Princeton, and St. Joseph; and a sales office in Princeton.

Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., is the world's leading supplier of agricultural genetics and is the leading developer and integrator of agricultural technology. Headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, Pioneer develops, produces, and markets a full line of seeds, forage/grain additives and
services to grain and livestock producers, grain processors and other customers worldwide.

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