DuPont to Open New Soybean Research Center in Lawrence, Kansas

Increased investment in soybeans will help maintain record-breaking yields

LAWRENCE, Kan., July 12, 2007 -- DuPont today announced that its Pioneer Hi-Bred business will open a new soybean research center here to enhance soybean product development and testing efforts for customers in Kansas, southeast Nebraska and western Missouri.

The expansion is part of a global effort by DuPont to reinvest $100 million into its seed business to strengthen and drive commercialization of its pipeline of new products.

"This new center continues to build upon the product performance advantage Pioneer has firmly established in North America," said Dennis Byron, Pioneer vice president of crop product development. "With annual yield increases more than triple the industry average, Pioneer® brand soybeans developed with proprietary genetic markers continue to outpace the competition, reinforcing Pioneer as the brand leader in soybean performance."

In 2006, Missouri farmer Kip Cullers set a new world record in soybean production at 139 bushels per acre with Pioneer® brand soybean variety 94M80 (RR).

The new research center will play a vital role in developing and commercializing new varieties to meet the needs of area customers. Those include varieties with tolerance to drought, soybean cyst nematode, charcoal rot, stem borer, sudden death syndrome, Phytophthora root rot and other insect and disease protection traits. All are significant yield robbers in the geography covered by the new center.

"The research center's breeding program will be rapidly integrating those traits into elite Pioneer germplasm," Byron said. "Locating the center in Lawrence enables our soybean research teams to work more closely with area farmers to make better product advancement decisions that will benefit farmers in Kansas, southeast Nebraska and western Missouri."

Pioneer is currently leasing an office building and land, with plans to build a permanent facility in Lawrence in the near future.

With the opening of the Lawrence Soybean Research Center, Pioneer has three crop-specific research locations in Kansas. The other two locations are in Garden City (corn) and Manhattan (sorghum).

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.

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Contact: Jo Patterson
515-253-5705