Corteva Agriscience September 2021 Newsletter

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Aloha from Corteva Agriscience!

NEWS FROM OUR FARMS

See the sunnies like never before! Corteva launches its

first-ever, 360-degree virtual sunflower tour

Corteva Agriscience Hawai‘i is thrilled to take you on an all-immersive, 360-degree virtual reality tour of its 2021 sunflower growout, all from the comfort of your own home. Sunflowers have been grown in Waialua for more than 20 years to ensure our seeds are the highest quality for our farmer customers worldwide. Throughout the virtual tour, production location manager Alika Napier takes the audience on an educational but breathtaking tour through the sunflower fields and the Waialua Parent Seed location of Corteva Agriscience.

To view Corteva’s 360-degree virtual sunflower tours, please visit https://bit.ly/virtualsunflowe.... and follow Corteva Hawai‘i on Facebook for updates: www.fb.com/CortevaHawaii/. Move your phone up, down and side to side to see all around you.The virtual tour will also be shared with educators and community members as a learning opportunity in place of field trips and farm tours.

Did you know that in their bud phase, sunflowers will follow the sun, but as they begin to bloom and once the petals start to open up, the flowers will always face east toward the rising sun? Bees pollinate the flowers clockwise, from the outer edges of the flower toward the middle. Once fully pollinated, these blooms will begin to sag under the weight of the seeds. Each sunflower can contain as many as 1,000 to 2,000 seeds and produce up to a half cup of cooking oil. The high oleic sunflower oil may help reduce the risk of heart disease.

Please note that this sunflower field has since been taken down.

Corteva Agriscience Hawai‘i 360-degree Virtual Reality Sunflower Tour

Corteva Hawai‘i's farmer incubator program expands

As part of our efforts to assist small farmers and foster opportunities for farmer development, Corteva Hawai‘i developed a farmer incubator program on Kaua‘i. One of the farmer groups participating in the program is Kauai Taro Company. They recently planted a lo‘i to grow wetland taro, and with a successful initial plot, we're helping them expand the lo‘i. The state currently imports the majority of taro from Asia for local use. Taro was last grown historically in Kekaha back in the 1860s and these plantings mark an important return of this crop after 160 years.

Pumpkins coming soon!

Our Corteva team in Kaua‘i recently harvested more than 2,000 pumpkins and moved them to Waimea! In July, our field team prepared the soil, planted the seeds and dug holes to transplant the seeds into the pumpkin field.These beautiful pumpkins will be donated to our community at the Harvest Fest in October. We can't wait to share the pumpkins grown on our farm with the Garden Island community!

AG IN ACTION

Employees at Corteva Hawai‘i donated more

than $10k, food to Kaua‘i food banks

In mid-July, Corteva Hawai‘i donated $10,000 to the Hawai‘i Foodbank Kaua‘i Branch and Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank (KIFB). In addition, Corteva Hawai‘i employees raised $1,558 in funds and 3,338 pounds of food that were shared equally between the food banks. The donations from Corteva will help fuel KIFB’s Backpack program, which provides healthy food and snacks to keiki during weekends when there is no school.

We're so proud of our Corteva Hawai‘i employees who organized a food drive in June as part of Corteva's volunteer month! We're grateful that our Corteva Hawai‘i employees have generously donated to the communities we live and work in. As part of the Islands since 1968, Corteva is committed to being a good neighbor and contributing to the community.

University of Hawai‘i Summer Research Experience

for Undergraduates visits Corteva in Hawai‘i

Undergraduate students from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa visited the Waialua Parent Seed location in August with site lead Alika Napier and Hawai‘i Research lead Mark Stoutemeyer. The tour was part of an 8-week data driven ag research program sponsored by Dr. Michael Muszynski. The students came from diverse backgrounds, but all shared a similar interest in developing their research skills as they advance in their education. Their projects focused on profiling corn inbred lines based on root morphology and other traits, and they were interested in understanding the work Corteva does in the islands.

As part of the student’s professional training, Mark and Alika provided an overview of Corteva Agriscience, the seed industry in Hawai‘i, and skill sets they would need and potential career paths in agriculture. The students were fascinated by the intersection of high technology and precision agriculture on Hawai‘i’s seed and agricultural industry and how this will change the way we grow and produce food both today and into the future. Corteva Hawai‘i was honored to meet engaged students interested in agricultural careers. Special mahalo to Mark and Alika who provided a tour of the production facility and background on our partnership with the University of Hawai‘i's GoFarm Farmer Incubator Program. Through the GoFarm initiative, Corteva provides the land, resources, and support to help foster new farmers in Hawai‘i.

Adopt-A-Highway Returns to the Hawai‘i Research Center

The Hawai‘i Research Center has had a long tradition of participating in the State Department of Transportation’s Adopt-A-Highway program. The group originally joined the program in 2017 as Pioneer Hi-Bred International and routinely sent volunteers to pick up trash along the roadsides leading into Waimea town. As COVID-related gathering restrictions lifted, the Hawai‘i Research team resumed clean-up efforts under its new name, Corteva Agriscience. With passion, persistence and skills, Yael Claussen coordinated a well-organized and streamlined event filled with safety protocols, buddy systems and personal protection equipment (PPE) to keep Corteva employees safe.

In August, about 25 Corteva employees dressed in bright orange shirts and safety gear and paused from their regular activities to collect the abundance of trash that accumulated since the start of the pandemic. Additional support staff transported water and supplies to ensure employees stayed hydrated through the event. Together, the group collected approximately 50 bags of trash from the two-mile stretch of road in just a few hours. Keeping this area clean is critical due its proximity to the ocean and neighboring Waimea River. In addition to the main office of the Hawai‘i Research Center, this section of highway is heavily accessed by community members for walking, bicycling, and surfing. Corteva Agriscience believes that by partnering with society, we can build better communities. The Hawai‘i Research Center staff is looking forward to continuing this partnership with the State of Hawai‘i and other local organizations.

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

Meet Justin Brown, farm manager at
Corteva’s Hawai‘i Research Center!

Growing up, Justin spent his summer breaks on a farm with his father, a generational farmer. Starting as a “wrench runner,” Justin worked his way up and through various farming equipment and over time learned more about crops and farming practices.

“The everchanging puzzle of farming is what got me hooked,” Justin said.

Prior to joining Corteva, Justin was finishing his master’s degree in plant science at South Dakota State University. He also leased and operated his own farm acres, while helping support his family farm in South Dakota.

As a farm manager at the Hawai‘i Research Center, Justin is responsible for soil preparation, planting, and cultivation. He also oversees wildlife control, fence maintenance and a portion of general farm and field maintenance. In July, Justin celebrated one year on the Corteva Hawai‘i team and says he’s really enjoyed working with local farmers to provide them ideas and guidance for improvement. He often ends up learning from local farmers about the culture, farming, and other aspects of life on Kaua‘i.

“It always amazes me the connections that you have with Corteva, especially being a global company,” Justin said. “Occasionally you get to work with individuals who are not even on the same continent and get the opportunity to see what is going on around the world, within and outside the company.”

In his free time, Justin enjoys going to the beach, hiking, biking and fishing. He also likes driving around and finding new places.

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