Pioneer Enhances Commitment to Forage Program

Expansions made in field staff, forage testing capacity

DES MOINES, Iowa, Oct. 26, 2007 - Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, announces that it is further enhancing its commitment to the forage marketplace by expanding its field personnel dedicated exclusively to forage producers and bolstering both its Nutritional and Grain Sciences Analytical Lab and Livestock Nutrition Center. This significantly increases forage sample testing and feed trial capacity.

These moves mark a growth in the already strong commitment Pioneer has made to the forage marketplace through its broad, integrated product-and-services approach to forage producers. Combining high-yielding corn silage and alfalfa seed product lineups with cutting-edge forage additives and nutritional expertise, Pioneer is dedicated to remaining the leading provider of comprehensive forage programs.

"The industry tends to talk about the ingredients in a forage program separately," says Bill Mahanna, Pioneer global nutritional sciences coordinator. "At Pioneer, we're really looking to provide growers with the best nutritional package for their operation."

Part of this package is expertise. Pioneer recently announced it hired two new dairy specialists - Dann Bolinger for Michigan and Kevin Putnam for New York and New England. Bolinger was formerly employed as an Extension dairy educator at Michigan State and Putnam as nutritionist with Blue Seal Feed Company. Both will be dedicated exclusively to working with regional dairy and beef producers to provide nutritional forage expertise to help customers get the most from their feeding program.

Earlier this year, Pioneer expanded its livestock information management team with the hiring of two livestock information managers. Leo Brown is based in Bloomington, Ill., and Jim Smith is located in Mankato, Minn.

Brown and Smith join Steve Soderlund, Ph. D., in Parker, Colo., and Rick Weber PAS, in Lincoln, Neb. As livestock information managers, their role is to share information from the Pioneer research pipeline with livestock producers and communicate customer needs back to Pioneer.

Pioneer brings together all the components for a comprehensive livestock nutrition and forage program, from intensive product development and selection to extensive sample and performance testing.

In addition to expanding field staff, Pioneer has enhanced its Nutritional and Grain Sciences Analytical Lab in Urbandale, Iowa. The lab has added drying capacity to speedup sample testing as well as increasing near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) capacity. These changes will enable the lab to process more samples and provide results to producers more quickly. In 2006, this facility analyzed more than 50,000 samples. Of these, 18,500 were corn forage samples, nearly 20,000 were corn grain and 7,000 were alfalfa samples. The expansion is expected to raise the number of samples tested by 20 percent this year to 60,000 samples tested.

Customers will gain from further expansion at the Pioneer Livestock and Nutrition Center, which has increased capacity to handle and condition grain. This allows Pioneer to better formulate diets for animal-feeding trials. The additional capacity supports the regulatory approval process for transgenic products as well as helping with characterization of hybrids, varieties and forage additives for nutritional value.

Integrated Forage Program
Pioneer customers can see the best real-world results when they tap into the knowledge of their nutritionist and Pioneer experts to develop and manage a comprehensive nutritional program for their animals.

According to Mahanna, knowing how corn, alfalfa and forage additives work together is a real advantage Pioneer can provide customers.

Pioneer agronomists and account managers can assist producers with decisions concerning the entire silage spectrum - from planting to harvest to feedout.

"At Pioneer, we understand the impact of plant population, growing environment and bunker management, and we work with customers and their consultants to improve their forage production and management," says Mahanna. "We conduct research on various forms of corn in the diet. Whether it is fed as high-moisture corn, steam-flaked or rolled. We also work with Pioneer nutritionists in other countries to introduce new tools, such as infrared photography, to better understand heat loss and nutrient shrink in all types of fermented crops.

"Nobody makes as much information available to customers as Pioneer," Mahanna says. "Our goal is to help the customer get the best performance from the Pioneer® brand products they use - whether that's pounds of milk or feed:gain ratio."

Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, is the world's leading source of customized solutions for farmers, livestock producers and grain and oilseed processors. With headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, Pioneer provides access to advanced plant genetics in nearly 70 countries.

DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.

# # #

10/26/2007

Contact: Jerry Harrington
800-247-6803, ext. 6908