Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. is a U.S.-based producer of seeds for agriculture. They are a major producer of genetically modified crops with insect and herbicide resistance. As of 2019, Pioneer is a wholly owned subsidiary of Corteva Agriscience.

History

In 1926, farm journal editor and future U.S. Vice President Henry A. Wallace, along with a group of Des Moines, Iowa businessmen, founded the Hi-Bred Corn Company. The group included Henry's brother James W. Wallace, Fred Lehmann, J. J. Newlin, Simon Casady Jr. and George Kurtzweil. Wallace had been experimenting with hybridization of corn and became convinced that hybrid seed corn would become important.

Today

The headquarters of Dupont Pioneer are located in Johnston, Iowa, with additional offices around the world. Pioneer produces, markets and sells hybrid seed corn in nearly 70 countries worldwide. The company also markets and sells hybrids or improved varieties of sorghum, sunflower, soybean, alfalfa, canola, rice and wheat, as well as forage and grain additives. Worldwide, Pioneer sells products through a variety of organizations, including wholly owned subsidiaries (Curry Seed, NuTech Seed, Hoegemeyer Hybrids, Doeblers Seed, Seed Consultants Inc, Terral Seeds, AgVenture Inc) joint ventures, sales representatives, and independent dealers (Burrus Hybrids, Beck's Superior Hybrids). Pioneer makes and sells hybrid seed and genetically modified seed, some of which goes on to become genetically modified food. Genes engineered into their products include the LibertyLink gene, which provides resistance to Bayer's Ignite/Liberty herbicides; the Herculex I Insect Protection gene which provides protection against various insects; the Herculex RW insect protection trait, which provides protection against other insects; the YieldGard Corn Borer gene, which provides resistance to another set of insects; and the Roundup Ready Corn 2 trait, which provides crop resistance against glyphosate herbicides. In 2010 Dupont Pioneer received approval to start marketing Plenish soybeans, which contains "the highest oleic acid content of any commercial soybean product, at more than 75%". Plenish is genetically engineered to "block the formation of enzymes that continue the cascade downstream from oleic acid (that produces saturated fats), resulting in an accumulation of the desirable monounsaturated acid." A lawsuit was filed in 2011 by residents of Waimea, Kauai, against Pioneer. The 58-page lawsuit alleged that Pioneer's practices in the farming of genetically modified seed crops on fields next to Waimea unlawfully allowed pesticides and pesticide-laden fugitive dust to blow into residents’ homes on almost a daily basis for more than 10 years. In May 2015, a jury awarded over $500,000 to 15 Waimea residents for property damage and loss of use due to dust from test fields.

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