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Our History

History of Pioneer

Pioneer has a rich legacy of over 95 years. Learn more about our history & the evolution of our brand.

2021
Corteva Pioneer_95.jpg

“Pioneer 95 Years”

  1. Pioneer celebrates 95 years of delivering its promise and the best is yet to come.

2019
Corteva Corteva

Corteva Agriscience™

Corteva Agriscience™ established Pioneer as their flagship seed brand in South Africa.

2018
PROBULK PROBULK

PROBULK Facility

  1. Pioneer opens the PROBULK Facility in Hendrina, Middelburg that pioneered the way for our new soy pipeline.

2017
Pioneer Second Research Facility

Second Research Facility

Pioneer opens the Hoogekraal Dry West Research Facility

2014
Pioneer First Research Facility

First Research Facility

Pioneer opens a Research Facility in Delmas

1992
Pioneer Registration in South Africa

Registration in South Africa

Pioneer registers the company in South Africa

1981
Pioneer Corn Market Leader

Corn Market Leader

Pioneer becomes the seed corn market share leader in North America.

1952
Pioneer The Long Look

The Long Look

The “Long Look” business philosophy is written

1949
Pioneer Pioneer® hits a million

Pioneer® hits a million

Annual sales of Pioneer® brand seed corn in North America pass the million-unit mark.

1926
Hi-Bred The start of Hi-Bred Corn Company

The start of Hi-Bred Corn Company

Founder Henry A. Wallace incorporates the Hi-Bred Corn Company, ushering in a new era of farmer acceptance of hybrid corn

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1926 Henry A. Wallace incorporates the Hi-Bred Corn Company.

No person was more important to commercialization and farmer acceptance of hybrid corn than Henry A. Wallace, the founder of what has become DuPont Pioneer. He was one of a handful of people in the world who initially recognized the immense opportunities that could be gained by growing hybrid corn. Wallace began experimenting with corn in high school with the goal of developing a hybrid that would produce high grain yield. At age 16, he field-tested prize-winning show corn against corn less beautiful in appearance. The results challenged conventional thinking at the time by demonstrating there was no relationship between yield and appearance of the ears.

Wallace attended Iowa State College, graduating in 1910. While in college, he became fascinated with the relatively new science of genetics. After graduation, Wallace began working on corn-breeding experiments and started breeding hybrid corn in 1920 after visiting Edward East and Donald Jones at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. The mathematically inclined Wallace taught himself statistics and applied it to his experiments. By 1923, he had produced a high-yielding hybrid he called Copper Cross. In 1924, it became the first hybrid to win the gold medal in the Iowa Corn Yield Contest conducted by Iowa State.