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Bayer invests in soybean advancement in the Midwest

Bayer CropScience is expanding its investment in soybean research and development.

Marc Hoobler, North American seed product manager for Bayer, says the company’s new Soybean Breeding and Trait Development Center, which opened last week, will use modern breeding methods to push the limits of soybean yield potential.

The facility is located at the Midwest Field Technology Station outside of Champaign, Ill. and will focus on developing Maturity Groups two and three Credenz seed for growers across the Midwest.  “Our efforts at that particular station will help bring new soybean varieties with the right trait packages to growers throughout the Midwest,” he says.  “To help them meet their greatest challenges and improve their yields.”

He tells Brownfield the new center is part of Bayer’s three-year, 1-billion-dollar commitment to invest in new facilities, expansions, and renovations.

Hoobler says the investments are made with the grower in mind.  “One of the things we’re also trying to focus on is not just a product – but really focus on integrative solutions,” he says.  “That means thinking more about the crop itself and how we improve soybean production in the US.”

The expansion is one of three soybean research stations Bayer will debut in 2017.  The two other facilities are located in Arkansas (Maturity Groups four and five) and North Carolina (Maturity Groups six and seven).

AUDIO: Marc Hoobler, Bayer CropScience