Dupont and Pioneer change direction

Pioneer Hi-Bred Ltd. wants to get farmers back wearing its hats and coats.

In mid-December, Dupont Agriculture and Nutrition, which includes the well-known seed company, announced it was beefing up its seed development subsidiary. Art Stirling, Dupont’s Chatham-based biotechnology affairs manager, says the $100 million US saved by scaling back Dupont’s crop protection and nutrition businesses will be re-invested in “plant breeding, and biotechnology and other high growth opportunities.”

Developments include expediting the launch of seeds resistant to sulfonyurea sprays such as Accent, used in corn, and Pinnacle in soybeans.

Reports indicate that, in recent years, rival Monsanto Company has made inroads in corn seed markets at Pioneer’s expense. Five years ago, says the News Journal, which is published in Wilmington, Del., where Dupont’s crop protection division is based, Pioneer had a 40 per cent position compared to Monsanto’s five per cent. Last year, the two companies had 30 and 29 per cent of the market respectively.

“I don’t know the source of those numbers,” Stirling says. “We do not as a rule share market share information.” But, he concedes, “Monsanto has worked hard to acquire share through the acquisition of a number of seed companies and through the introduction of traits. It’s an extremely competitive marketplace.”

A Monsanto press release issued Nov. 30 indicated that early season corn seed sales were “unprecedented.” Monsanto expects to gain another two per cent in U.S. market share in 2007, largely because of its “triple stack” genetically modified seed products.

But, according to Stirling, Pioneer has “a very competitive offering.” It is working on a regulatory process for a proprietary glyphosate tolerant trait and hopes to bring the soybean trait to market in 2008 or 2009 and the corn trait a year later. BF