Iowa corn company
comes to Oahu

Star-Bulletin staff

An Iowa-based seed producer plans to build a 30,000-square-foot corn drying, shelling and packing plant on 10 acres just south of Waialua on Oahu's North Shore.

Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. said it won't grow its own corn but will contract with local growers to produce the crop from 1,000 acres of land in the area.

Des Moines-based Pioneer, which has had a seed-corn operation on Kauai since 1968, said the Oahu plant will hire more than a dozen full-time employees and 20 seasonal workers and should contribute about $5 million a year to the Hawaii economy.

The plant will cost $7.5 million to build and is scheduled for completion in June, the company said.

Mainland seed companies found several decades ago that they could develop new breeds quickly in Hawaii because they can get three crops a year and aren't shut out for winter months.

"We'll be growing the newest inbreeds and experimental hybrids from research in a wide range of maturities," said Don Miles, corn production manager for Pioneer.

"Spring, summer and fall crops will help us turn new technology products around quickly," he said.

Francisco Lynch, the company's Hawaii manager, said having seed locations on two islands reduces the risk of disease and gives the company flexibility in planting and harvest dates.