DuPont Pioneer Begins $19M Expansion of Ontario Facility

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

DuPont Pioneer has begun construction on the expansion of its Chatham, Ont. location, which will soon provide on-site integrated refuge production. The new processing towers will give growers the option to condition, treat and blend seed to integrate refuge products.

Refuge seed, which does not contain any Bt traits for insect control, which allows insects to have a safe place to reproduce. The federal government has mandated that growers plant 20 percent refuge seed to prevent insects from developing a resistance to Bt corn.  “This is an example of the seed industry and regulators working together to protect the future of agriculture,” Tim Weller, senior production manager, DuPont Pioneer said in a release.

Construction on the facility has already begun and is expected to be completed by Aug. 2014.  The expansion will include refuge production capacity, equipment for soybean conditioning, and new dryers and bins. DuPont Pioneer has operated in Chatham for more than 55 years.