Lawrence, Kansas
July 12, 2007
Increased investment in
soybeans will help maintain record-breaking yields
DuPont today announced that
its Pioneer Hi-Bred
business will open a new soybean research center here to enhance
soybean product development and testing efforts for customers in
Kansas, southeast Nebraska and western Missouri.
The expansion is part of a global effort by DuPont to reinvest
$100 million into its seed business to strengthen and drive
commercialization of its pipeline of new products.
"This new center continues to build upon the product performance
advantage Pioneer has firmly established in North America," said
Dennis Byron, Pioneer vice president of crop product
development. "With annual yield increases more than triple the
industry average, Pioneer® brand soybeans developed with
proprietary genetic markers continue to outpace the competition,
reinforcing Pioneer as the brand leader in soybean performance."
In 2006, Missouri farmer Kip Cullers set a new world record in
soybean production at 139 bushels per acre with Pioneer® brand
soybean variety 94M80 (RR).
The new research center will play a vital role in developing and
commercializing new varieties to meet the needs of area
customers. Those include varieties with tolerance to drought,
soybean cyst nematode, charcoal rot, stem borer, sudden death
syndrome, Phytophthora root rot and other insect and disease
protection traits. All are significant yield robbers in the
geography covered by the new center.
"The research center's breeding program will be rapidly
integrating those traits into elite Pioneer germplasm," Byron
said. "Locating the center in Lawrence enables our soybean
research teams to work more closely with area farmers to make
better product advancement decisions that will benefit farmers
in Kansas, southeast Nebraska and western Missouri."
Pioneer is currently leasing an office building and land, with
plans to build a permanent facility in Lawrence in the near
future.
With the opening of the Lawrence Soybean Research Center,
Pioneer has three crop-specific research locations in Kansas.
The other two locations are in Garden City (corn) and Manhattan
(sorghum).
Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, is the world's leading
source of customized solutions for farmers, livestock producers
and grain and oilseed processors. With headquarters in Des
Moines, Iowa, Pioneer provides access to advanced plant genetics
in nearly 70 countries.
DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded
in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable
solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for
people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont
offers a wide range of innovative products and services for
markets including agriculture and food; building and
construction; communications; and transportation.
®, ™: Trademarks of Pioneer Hi-Bred
RR = the Roundup Ready® gene.
® Roundup Ready is a registered trademark of Monsanto Company.
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