STROMSBURG, NEB. — DuPont Pioneer, the largest U.S. producer of hybrid seeds for agriculture, said it will more than triple its localized testing at a new soybean research facility based in Stromsburg. The new site, which is expected to open this spring, will implement the company’s Accelerated Yield Technology (A.Y.T.) process and enhance the next generation of Pioneer brand soybean products named the “T Series” that includes 39 new products to be introduced in 2013.
“Our Right Product, Right Acre philosophy and A.Y.T. system, a combination of molecular breeding techniques, information management and localized testing, will be a strong foundation of this program and will allow us to make better decisions to benefit farmers’ operations more than ever before,” said Steve Schnebly, senior research manager for DuPont Pioneer.
Mr. Schnebly has focused on the soybean area since 1995 and will continue to oversee the Nebraska program. In addition to the Stromsburg site, DuPont Pioneer operates soybean research facilities in Algona and Dallas Center, Iowa; Lawrence, Kas.; Redwood Falls, Minn.; and Volga, S.D.
“A site in Nebraska will increase our opportunities to have closer interactions between researchers, seed growers and producers than we have in the past,” Mr. Schnebly said. “It’s not just about the products we sell, but also about the information we can bring to farmers to help them maximize their profitability on every acre.
“Plant breeding research is a time-intensive process. Multiple years of testing at the local and regional level benefits producers. With this additional facility, we have a good, strong mix of irrigated and non-irrigated acres to work with that will help us understand what works well in both types of areas. It also will expand our work on some of the key defensive traits in Nebraska and the region, including phytophthora resistance, sudden death tolerance, soybean cyst nematode and iron chlorosis tolerance.”
