Page 87 - Innovation Delaware 2019

Researchers, companies of all sizes shore up Delaware’s leadership in agriculture
ABY ROGER MORRIS
griculture has long been Delaware’s single largest land use, so it’s no surprise that the sector is a strong focus for First State innovators. A potent mix of startups, researchers and established agribusiness
companies works to protect the crops that Delaware’s farmers cultivate and to ensure agriculture has a bright future.
A prime example is Corteva Agriscience. On June 1, Delaware became the headquarters for this new company, which is a freestanding unit of DowDuPont, has more than 3,000 employees worldwide and comes with a deep portfolio of products. That portfolio includes the Pioneer seed line, which has traditionally been an important resource to Delaware farmers.
“As we continue to drive our business forward through innovation to maintain our robust new product pipeline, we
are proud to have a significant presence in Wilmington, where groundbreaking science and research has long been a part of the fabric of our community,” says Corteva CEO James C. Collins Jr. “We now have the focused resources necessary to invest in the future of agriculture. ... At the same time, we will continue to be a supportive corporate citizen as we build a global agriculture leader for the future.”
Much of Corteva’s business is in crop seeds and crop protection chemicals. In late February, the nascent company announced the U.S. launch of Enlist E3 soybeans for 2019 planting, calling it
one of the largest soybean technology systems ever launched. A major advantage of Enlist E3 soybeans is that they are tolerant to newer and more effective weed-killing herbicides, thus allowing farmers to have increased yields and overall better crop quality. This is especially important news to Delaware farmers, as the state produced more than 8 million bushels of soybeans in 2017.
Corteva also has announced a joint plan to use more than 400 drones to help its customers do real-time field analysis of their crops. In partnership with a company called DroneDeploy, drone operators can survey a 160-acre field in less than 15 minutes, identifying variations in plant and soil health. This will allow farmers to implement proper solutions to any problems discovered.
HIGHER YIELDS THROUGH GENE-EDITING
At the smaller end of the startup spectrum, Hajime Sakai sits in a quiet office outside the laboratories of the company he now heads, Napigen Inc. It’s located within the Delaware Innovation Space on the campus of the former DuPont Experimental Station. “I can see the building where I used to work,” he says,
INNOVATION BY SECTOR
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