Syngenta opens new North America Seedcare Institute in Stanton, Minnesota

Syngenta recently unveiled its new Seedcare Institute in Stanton, Minnesota, during a grand opening celebration. More than 150 industry leaders, government officials, Syngenta customers and employees toured the 38,000-square-foot, free-standing facility on Syngenta’s Stanton campus. Syngenta’s Seedcare Institute features the most sophisticated laboratories in the agricultural industry and is one of the premier seed treatment research facilities in the world.

Five-times larger than the former Seedcare Institute, formally established at Stanton in in 2000, the new structure houses:

•    Research and development (R&D) labs
•    Labs for application, plantability, dust-off and quality assurance
•    Climate-controlled application and planter testing labs
•    Large-scale commercial application and performance area to simulate real-life experiences for customers
•    Modern customer classroom facilities
•    Seed warehouse
•    Office and meeting space

“The Syngenta Seedcare Institute in Stanton is a state-of-the-art research and training facility, offering enriched seed treatment education, better collaboration opportunities with customers, advanced training and personal application support,” said Vern Hawkins, president, Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC, and region director, North America.

Syngenta invests more than $1.36 billion in R&D globally or $3.7 million every day.

“Syngenta’s $20 million investment in seed treatment R&D at Stanton reinforces our commitment to helping farmers grow more, while using fewer resources and protecting the environment — today and tomorrow,” Hawkins said.

Seed treatment is a valuable and effective tool for farmers. With seed treatment, a chemical or biological substance, typically a fungicide, insecticide or nematicide, is applied in small and precise amounts to the outside of the seed prior to planting. Seed treatment helps protect the seed and seedling against early-season insect pests and diseases that reside in the soil. And it helps the plant get off to a healthy start and develop a strong root system—the foundation of a strong, productive plant.

Syngenta’s Seedcare Institute in Stanton tailors seed-treatment recipes for individual customers, then scales up the recipes from the lab to commercial-size treaters. Syngenta can simulate various climate conditions at time of treatment and adjust recipes for different crops and seed treating equipment.

The new Seedcare Institute will allow Syngenta to meet the increasing demand by farmers and seed companies to protect high-value seeds and seed traits. Seed treatment in North America accounts for more than 30 percent of the global market.

“As the seed treatment industry continues to evolve, we strive to consistently offer more sophisticated products and best-in-class service to our customers to better serve them,” said Ravi Ramachandran, Ph.D., head of Syngenta’s Seedcare Institute for North America. “This facility can provide the intensive training needed by our seed company customers, ag retailers, applicators and farmers to fully realize the value of our seed applied technologies, best-management practices and stewardship.”

In 2015, the Seedcare Institute in Stanton trained 1,170 customers– 368 percent more customers trained than the 250 trained in 2013. This is a measure of Syngenta’s commitment to customer education and stewardship, outlined in The Good Growth Plan, the company’s global strategy to sustainably feed a growing population.

Syngenta’s Stanton campus provides an ideal spot for The Seedcare Institute in North America. It houses Syngenta’s main corn-breeding research station, is close to the majority of U.S. corn and soybean acres as well as many Syngenta customers, and is convenient to the Minneapolis Airport.

The new Seedcare Institute in Stanton could potentially add up to 10 jobs.

For more than 36 years, Syngenta has been a leader in seed treatment technology. This heritage dates back to 1979 with the introduction of Concep® seed safener, the first product of its kind for sorghum.

Syngenta currently operates 12 Seedcare Institutes globally. Together they serve as centers of excellence in product application, quality management, training, seed science and product marketing support for its customers.