DuPont CEO Applauds New Holland Corn Research Center for Excellence in Research

DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred recently celebrated the completion of a million-dollar expansion project that includes a 9,600-square-foot equipment storage and maintenance facility along with a new corn dryer.

DuPont Chair & CEO Ellen Kullman was on hand for the event commemorating the completion of the New Holland, Pa., corn research center expansion and emphasized that investments made in research and development are critical to meeting customer needs and ensuring food security.

“Research and development is the heart of DuPont,” Ellen said. “Last year, DuPont invested $1.7 billion in research and development, and 61% of this investment focused on increasing food production. DuPont’s commitment to research is evident in the $1.2 million expansion we’ve seen here today.”

The existing New Holland building was remodeled to provide new office space and an enhanced work area for employees. The center was established in the New Holland area in 1985 and moved to its current location in 1994. The center conducts research at 20 unique testing locations from Williamsport, Pa., to Salisbury, Md. Since 2004, plot rows have increased five-fold and the staff has tripled in size with the goal of delivering the right product on the right acre.

Today, the center has about 15 full-time employees and many seasonal employees. The center contracts with more than 20 grower cooperators who provide land for local product development and testing.

“It’s an opportune time to be in agriculture and an exciting time to be part of Pioneer,” said Paul Schickler, president – Pioneer Hi-Bred, who spoke at the event. “We are committed to finding innovative solutions to improve agriculture productivity. It is exciting to see that through this center expansion we are paving the way for even greater advancements in the future.”

One of those advancements is a major innovation developed by New Holland scientist David Whitaker. His work on Pioneer’s first commercial brown mid-rib (BMR) corn, a hybrid that offers improved silage digestibility, gives growers another option when selecting their silage and dairy nutrition products. This product will be commercially available for the 2012 planting season. In addition to BMR, scientists also are focused on delivering high yielding products with resistance to foliar and stalk diseases.

“The New Holland center has a deep history of research excellence, and is critical to our long-term success,” Paul said. “Our right product, right acre strategy is all inclusive. We are talking about innovation in the lab, as well as in the field.”