Dow AgroSciences opened new R&D facility

Dow AgroSciences opened its new Research and Development facility to the community on Friday, July 27. At the opening, a donation of $15,000 from The Dow Chemical Company Foundation was given to the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate as a way of giving back to the local community.

While Dow AgroSciences is not new to the city of Olivia, the decision to change locations came from the growth opportunities and research needs at the Olivia site. The new site features several increased capabilities including accommodations for soybean breeding and an expansion dedicated to corn research.

The new site includes two buildings containing office spaces, seed labs, equipment storage and several field locations. Together, the buildings cover more than 50,000 square feet. With the growth at the Olivia Research Station, a number of new positions were added this year with plans to continue to increase employment over the next five years.

While financial information was not disclosed, the large investment of the new Olivia location was a necessity to support the growth objectives of our Seed and Traits business, such as SmartStax® and herbicide tolerance traits.

"Dow AgroSciences’ research efforts in corn and soybeans concentrate on the development of new products to meet the needs of growers in Minnesota and other neighboring states,” said Jeff Posch, Dow AgroSciences Research Station site leader at Olivia.

"The new site will allow our researchers to continue to cultivate the most innovative farming technologies and help today’s farmers meet the demands of our growing and changing world,” said Daniel R. Kittle, global leader, Research and Development at Dow AgroSciences.

The new site will allow for the continued progress of the corn and soybean breeding and technologies industry.

"The site has the latest state-of-the-art equipment in seed and traits research, Posch said, “With this investment, Dow AgroSciences will continue to be innovators within the industry.”