Bayer, Monsanto Invest in R&D
January 8, 2010 Within a week of each other, Bayer CropScience opened a new research and development center and Monsanto broke ground on one. Both held ceremonies in early November in Lubbock, TX.
Bayer‘s new 12,000 square-foot laboratory, the company said, is the latest in a series of new research and development facilities being opened in North America and the only one focused solely on delivering innovations to cotton. The total investment for the new facility is $2.7 million, and will employ approximately 25 people at full capacity, from plant breeders to molecular scientists and laboratory technicians.
Bayer designed its state-of-the-art lab to take the company to a new level in cotton innovation, tightening the linkage between the company’s successful cottonseed brands and among its research, development and breeding teams. The facility brings together three critical elements to Bayer’s cotton seed business: research activities to achieve proof of concept for promising new technologies in the research and development pipeline, next generation molecular breeding activities, and quality control genetic analysis.
With an eye toward increased yield and higher fiber quality, Monsanto said its new $10.5 million research “megasite” will provide a central point for breeding and testing programs in the High Plains region.
The Monsanto Texas Cotton Research Center is being developed on a 12.2-acre site within the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance Business Park, and will draw together a number of programs and contribute additional resources in the area.
It is estimated that 20 employees will be based at the facility, and due to the nature of the work, a large percentage of the team will have advanced degrees in genetics or other technical fields. Specialized equipment and computer technologies are also a factor for the facility.
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