Bayer CropScience opens new cotton R&D center in Lubbock

Bayer CropScience officially opened its new Cotton Research and Development Laboratory in Lubbock, Texas. The new 12,000 square-foot laboratory is the latest in a series of new research and development facilities being opened by Bayer CropScience in North America and the only one focused solely on delivering innovations in the world’s most important fiber crop: cotton. The total investment of the new facility amounts to USD 2.7 Mio. The new laboratory facility will house approximately 25 people at full capacity, from plant breeders to molecular scientists and laboratory technicians. The ceremony was attended by Bill Buckner, President and CEO of Bayer CropScience LP, and Texas State Senator Robert Duncan among other community leaders.

The state-of-the-art lab has been designed to take Bayer CropScience 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 new facility brings together three critical elements to Bayer CropScience’s cottonseed 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 analyses which underpin the cottonseed operation, enabling the company to deliver high-performance seeds and traits that consistently meet and exceed the needs of its global customers.

"Bayer CropScience is driven by innovation and cotton is a key crop focus for us. The Cotton Research and Development Center in Lubbock is another example of our strong commitment to investing in this crop and the search for new products and solutions to tomorrow’s agricultural challenges,” said Bill Buckner.

Bayer CropScience has a strong research pipeline in cotton that is specifically focused on three core areas – yield improvement, stress tolerance and quality enhancements. There are numerous programs in the cotton research pipeline, from next generation herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant traits to disease control, drought and stress tolerance and to fiber quality.

"Our ultimate goal is to develop and deliver innovations for cotton producers around the world that will revolutionize cotton production as we know it,” said Mike Gilbert, Global Head Cotton, for Bayer CropScience. “We’re excited about this new facility because it provides unique opportunities – right here in the heart of the U.S. cotton industry.”