Monsanto Company opened a research megasite in Lubbock, further strengthening the company’s dedication to cotton research and its commitment to Texas farmers. The Monsanto Texas Cotton Breeding and Technology Center provides a central point for the company’s breeding and testing programs in the High Plains region.

The Monsanto Texas Cotton Breeding and Technology Center cost $10.5 million to build and is located on a 12.2 acre site within the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance Business Park.

“Megasite” is a term Monsanto uses to describe a research facility which houses multiple programs focused on improving genetic performance. The Lubbock megasite houses both the High Plains and our Rolling Plains breeding programs, as well as the Discovery Breeding efforts. An Environmental Safety & Health team will also call the site home.

The megasite joins three other Monsanto facilities located in Texas – the Hale Center Research Farm and the testing programs in Haskell and Corpus Christi.

Since Monsanto formally acquired Deltapine cotton in 2007, it significantly broadened its breeding and testing efforts across the Cotton Belt. In the four years since the acquisition, the company saw a four-fold increase in the number of cotton yield trial plots it oversaw nationwide. In Texas, Deltapine established a six-fold increase in yield plots over the same time period.

The latest Deltapine varieties will target some of the biggest challenges that rowers in Texas face each year. The drought of 2011 has only intensified Deltapine’s efforts to increase water-use efficiency in its cotton varieties. To accomplish this goal, the company uses a two-pronged approach: variety breeding and biotechnology development. Currently, there are approximately 40 locations where Deltapine is testing water use efficiency in cotton.

Ultimately, the Lubbock megasite and other testing in Texas means that the product was bred in Texas and tested in Texas under the same conditions that the grower faces.