DuPont Pioneer broke ground on a $35 million soybean research site at the company’s Stine Haskell Research Center on the south edge of Newark.
The planned DuPont Pioneer Delaware Soybean Research Facility will be the second of two DuPont Pioneer research sites in Delaware. The other is at the company’s landmark Experimental Station near Wilmington.
The nearly 134,000 square foot facility will include automated greenhouses and will primarily support continued Pioneer soybean product development. U.S. growers have planted Pioneer brand soybeans on more acres than any other brand for more than two decades.
The new facility, according to the company, will be home to experts in advanced genetic discovery to develop and test the newest products and traits in the company’s growing research and development pipeline.
The new, automated greenhouses include a soybean plant movement system that will increase research efficiency. The greenhouses will feature three 60,000 gallon rain water cisterns to harvest, filter and re-use run-off.
“Delaware is proud of this investment by DuPont in the future of agriculture and that it is occurring in our state,” said Ed Kee, secretary of the Delaware Department of Agriculture. “Delaware farmers have a 200-year history of agricultural progress and innovation and all of us connected with our state’s agriculture look forward to the results of DuPont’s commitment to helping feed the world.
DuPont Pioneer is based in Iowa and has become a key part of DuPont. It is a relatively recent acquisition for the company and has helped it grow beyond the chemical business. The clout of DuPont Pioneer will increase when the Performance Chemical business is spun off.
Stine Haskell was formally occupied since 1948 and “has become an increasingly important part of our science story,” according to the company. It is now principal global R&D site for the Crop Protection business. It is also home of the Haskell Global Center for Health and Environmental Sciences, which supports product stewardship activities across the company.
As the company has gone through recent restructuring efforts, little has been reported about the future of the site.
However, officials at the ceremony stressed the importance of the site to the company and a drive through the site showed some newer structures at Stine Haskell Photos of the site are forbidden by DuPont, which has seen industrial espionage efforts over the years, including a recent case at a DuPont Pioneer site.
In the meantime, DuPont Pioneer has been stepping up its involvement in Delaware.
In remarks last month at the Delaware Department of Agriculture’s Education Building at the Delaware State Fair, state officials and company executives talks about successes and plans for future growth of DuPont Pioneer’s Plenish brand high-oleic soybean oil, a soy-based trans fat-free alternative for food companies and for foodservice operators.
Plans call for Perdue AgriBusiness to grow more beans for DuPont’s oil, partly by contracting with Delaware growers to produce 40,000 acres of high-oleic soybeans within five years, up from 6,000 acres now being planted.
Plenish soybeans were developed by DuPont scientists at the Experimental Station in Wilmington. The 6,000 acres in Delaware will produce an estimated 300,000 bushels.
The oil aims to be a heart-healthy product for cooking without sacrificing taste. The oil drew praise when used at a luncheon at the State Fair that featured chicken cooked in oil using the soybeans.
