Pioneer Seed

Abstract

Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., a DuPont company, is the world's leading developer and supplier of advanced plant genetics to farmers worldwide. This company is the largest and most profitable seed selling company worldwide. Pioneer has been discovered as one of the top three best companies to work for in 2005. This prestigious award has certainly been well earned as you will read for yourself in the following research documentation.

Pioneer Seed

Pioneer Seed is a subsidiary of DuPont Corporation and although this paper will focus mainly on Pioneer Seed, there will be relevant information given about the mother corporation, DuPont.

DuPont Corporation was founded by E.I DuPont from Paris, France. According to the DuPont website, "He, along with his family fled to America during the French Revolution. E.I. du Pont was the younger of two sons born to Paris watchmaker Pierre Samuel du Pont who, by the 1780s, had become a noted political economist, a rising government official, and an advocate of free trade. At age 14, E.I. wrote a paper on the manufacture of gunpowder and, with his father's assistance, gained a position at France's central powder agency. There he had studied advanced explosives production techniques with the famous chemist Antoine Lavoisier. In 1791, after the onset of the French Revolution, he gave up powder-making to assist in his father's small printing and publishing business. The DuPont's' moderate political views proved a liability in revolutionary France. In 1797 a mob ransacked their printing shop and they were briefly imprisoned. In late 1799 they fled to America." E.I. was more than just a worker in his father's company; he was a scientist who believed in the advancement of science through exploration. DuPont was a pillar in the community who contributed funds to help the needy and was an advocate of free education. DuPont was more than a scientist though; he was a Director of the Farmers Bank of the State of Delaware and the Second Bank of the United States. He was also an inventor. DuPont mostly explored the world of chemistry and he was very good at it. More importantly however, DuPont was a gentleman, and an honest man. It wasn't until many, many years later that a smaller subsidiary called Pioneer Seed would be born.

"Pioneer Seed is an industry leader, with a tradition if product excellence, superior customer service, and commitment to employees. Pioneer is the world's leading developer and supplier of advanced plant genetics to farmers worldwide. Pioneer develops, produces and markets a full line of top-quality seeds and forage and grain additives and provides services to customers in nearly 70 countries. The company also markets and sells hybrids or improved varieties of sorghum, sunflower, soybean, alfalfa, canola and wheat, as well as forage and grain additives. Pioneer Hi-Bred also has a variety of support operations including information management, real estate management, crop insurance services, financial services, and marketing services." Pioneer Webpage

Pioneer Seed was founded in 1926 by an Iowa farmer named Henry A. Wallace and eight associates. They wanted to develop and commercialize new techniques in plant breeding, particularly in corn hybrids. It was the first company to engage in the production and marketing of hybrid seed corn. The men planted small plots of ground again and again, tested and re-tested their results, and convinced thousands of farmers to try something completely new. Individually, they made significant contributions to agribusiness. Together, they created the foundation for an international enterprise and dramatically improved the world's food supply. For more than 75 years since its founding, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., has developed and introduced scores of corn hybrids. These hybrids delivered some of the best agronomics and performance available for their time. Each new generation of hybrids was selected and bred to raise the performance bar and deliver even greater value to farmers. In fact, since 1926, the U.S. average corn yield has increased five fold. Advancements in farm equipment, production practices, fertility programs and genetics have all contributed to this bounty. Pioneer Seed hasn't always been called Pioneer Seed. When it was first founded it was called Hi-Bred Corn Company, but later changed to Pioneer Hi-Bred Corn Company in 1935. The name was changed yet again in 1971 to Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. For the purpose of this paper I will refer to it as Pioneer Seed because the offer more seeds than just corn. Pioneer Seed has expanded through time, all over the world and now has locations in 70 countries. That is one reason I'd like to work for them, because the opportunity to travel abroad is available.

"Pioneer is a wholly owned subsidiary of DuPont. Pioneer became a DuPont company in 1999, bringing more opportunities for career growth to our employees. With more than 85,000 employees in 70 countries, DuPont offers the security and scope of a Fortune 500 company and a corporate culture of honesty and integrity that matches our own. DuPont is a science company, delivering science-based solutions in markets such as food and nutrition, health care, apparel, home and construction, electronics, and transportation." Pioneer Webpage.

So now that I have told you a little bit about how the company got started and where it is now, I will tell you why I chose to work for this awesome company! Pioneer is much more than just a great job. It seems like a place where you are given the opportunity to grow personally and professionally and you are rewarded for a job well done. That's how it should be in a career that you give your life to. I chose to specifically apply for a research scientist position. This position will provide technical and scientific expertise supporting crop protection chemistry gene expression studies in yeast, fungi, and plants. This position will also support gene expression studies in Pioneer Crop Genetics Research and Development. This position will collaborate with expression lab staff, Crop Genetic Research& Development scientists and DuPont Crop Protection scientists to conduct effective gene expression studies, identify new expression technologies, and support the analysis of expression profiling data. It is a position where my duties and