Corteva Agriscience, a spinout from Dow/Dupont with two North Carolina locations, said its new seed rebranding will help it serve its customers better.
The company, which launched as a separate entity from the agriculture division of Dow/DuPont in June 2019, is consolidating its corn and soybean seed products under the single Pioneer label in the mid-South and Southeastern U.S.
“We have accelerated the pace of innovation to create the richest pipeline in the industry and we are making it simpler to do business with Corteva,” said Brian Barker, multi-channel seed brand leader for Corteva Agriscience in a statement. “We are bringing a winning offer to retail partners backed by dedicated and focused sales and support teams.”
About one-third of U.S. farmers prefer to purchase their seeds through retail, which is also the primary route to market for Corteva Agriscience crop protection product sales.
A publicly traded (NYSE:CTVA) global firm with 21,000 employees in 140 countries, Corteva sells farmers a diverse mix of seed, crop protection and digital solutions.
In North Carolina, it has a research facility in Kinston and a production plant in Laurinburg. It has approximately eight employees in the state.
Nate Miller, the company’s U.S. South and specialty commercial lead, said in an interview with the North Carolina Biotechnology Center that the company does some of its research in crop trait development and germ plasm in its Kinston operation. “Only a few companies in the world are doing core research on germ plasm.”
Germ-plasm theory is a concept of the physical basis of heredity expressed by the 19th-century biologist August Weismann. In the theory, germ plasm, which is independent from all other cells, is the hereditary material that is passed from generation to generation.
Miller said Corteva’s advanced R&D efforts help it “provide the right product for the right farm.” In the South, the company focuses on corn, soybean, and cotton seeds as well as crop protection products.
The rebranding, he said, combines three previous sales teams into one and allows it to focus on serving its customers better.
It won’t result in any change of roles for its North Carolina employees, Miller noted. “Our intention is to grow our business and bring the best traits to North Carolina farmers.”
(c) North Carolina Biotechnology Center
