Dow AgroSciences expands, relocates field research station to Ames

Dow AgroSciences announced an expansion and relocation of the company’s Central Iowa Field Research sites to Ames, Iowa to accommodate the growing corn and soybean breeding programs. Dow AgroSciences purchased 155 acres of land just northwest of Ames for the new site, and construction of the new site is now complete.

The new site includes an office building, seed lab, and equipment storage. The new facility features approximately 17,500 square feet of office/seed lab building and approximately 15,300 square feet for the equipment storage building.

The Ames research station houses corn and soybean breeding programs along with a finishing trait corn conversion nursery, which supports Dow AgroSciences products like SmartStax®, Enlist™ Weed Control System and other new technologies coming to corn and soybeans.

"Our plant breeding efforts in corn and soybeans are targeted to develop and evaluate products to satisfy the needs of growers in Iowa and other neighboring states,” said Marcelo Queijo, Dow AgroSciences research station site leader at Ames.

"This expansion is one of many projects we are engaged in around the globe to bring farmers the best technologies and the best agronomic traits to meet their needs,” said Dan Kittle, Ph.D., vice president of Research and Development at Dow AgroSciences.

The expansion will allow the Dow AgroSciences corn and soybean breeding programs to expand, enabling their testing and breeding capacity to double over the next three years.

"The new facilities are built with the latest state-of-the-art equipment in seed processing and farm irrigation,” Queijo said. “Coupled with this investment, Dow AgroSciences has also acquired planting and harvesting equipment to help meet our strict timelines and allow us to accelerate the launch of our newest products and technologies to satisfy the needs of our growers.”

The Ames site has more than 20 full-time employees, plus a large number of seasonal and contract employees, and is expected to grow in the near future.

Project costs were not disclosed.

During an Open House event at the new field research station, Queijo and Keith Pietig, Ames Field Station operations leader, presented $500 donations to the Nevada High School FFA Chapter and the Nevada Fire Department.