Pioneer sorghum and corn were marketed in Australia prior to 1975, but that year saw the establishment of the Pioneer Hi-Bred Seed Company in Australia at Kingaroy QLD (pictured), a cropping region famous for deeply weathered red basalt soils and hot summers with high intensity rainfall dominating that time of year.  

The small company consisted of a handful of staff. Pioneer grew in market share dramatically in those early years due to the offering of high-yielding grain and forage sorghum hybrids that consistently performed well in the field. In 1981, the company name was changed to Pioneer Hi-Bred Australia. In the early 1980’s, Pioneer commenced research programs on corn and sunflowers, in addition to the purchase of land at Narromine NSW in 1984, with construction on the grading plant and warehouse commencing in 1985. The lucerne research program commenced in Bendigo VIC in 1986 and was later moved to Wagga Wagga NSW in 1996. At the end of the 80’s, Pioneer opened the Microbial Genetics Division in Australia, introducing lucerne and silage inoculant products into the portfolio. The head office for Pioneer in Australia was moved from Kingaroy to Toowoomba in 1989.

The third decade of Pioneer’s time in Australia, the 1990’s, saw rapid growth of the grain sorghum sector for Pioneer. Domestic demand grew alongside demand for Australian-bred grain sorghum hybrid seed from South America, where significant swathes of cropping land with similar geographies and climates to that in Australia exist.

In the 1990’s, the corn market grew in Australia, and Pioneer began to expand the portfolio with new genetics and traits; some of which were new to the Australian market at the time.

In 1997, Pioneer began developing spring canola products to fit the Australian market. The first open pollinated canola variety, 47C02, was released commercially in Australia as Pioneer began germplasm building in 1999. Herbicide tolerance trait canola varieties first became commercially available from Pioneer in 2000 with the company’s first Clearfield variety.

1999 also saw DuPont become the 100% owner of the Pioneer brand.
  

In 2005, Pioneer Hi-Bred Australia made the decision to divest of its sunflower, lucerne, oats, wheat and soybean programs, and focused in on its canola, grain sorghum, forage sorghum and corn breeding and commercialisation programs. These programs have continued to be a major focus of the portfolio for the Pioneer Seeds business in Australia.

In 2015, DuPont decided to modify its business structure in Australia to that of a producer distributor licensing arrangement. In June 2016, New Zealand based Genetic Technologies, a Yates family-owned business which operated in such an agreement in New Zealand for almost 40 years prior, took on the opportunity to expand their distribution rights for Pioneer brand products to encompass the Australian market. GenTech Seeds was established as the trading entity to take on the producer distributor agreement for Pioneer brand seeds in Australia. A brand-strengthening decision to licence GenTech Seeds to include the Pioneer research functions and facilities for corn, grain sorghum, and forage sorghum in Australia followed in 2019. 

A major global shift occurred in the seed industry in 2018, with various biological assets owned by the powerhouse companies of DuPont Pioneer, DuPont Crop Protection and Dow AgroSciences being brought together under the standalone company - Corteva Agriscience. The Pioneer brand, recognised for its immense value to global and Australian agriculture, has remained a flagship brand within the Corteva Agriscience portfolio. Since taking on the Pioneer brand stewardship and all that entails in Australia in 2016, the company has continued to grow. GenTech Seeds are the exclusive producer and distributor of Pioneer brand products in Australia.

With long-standing history and credibility in the seed industry, the Yates family’s involvement started in England in the late 1700’s, with James Yates seeing an opportunity in cotton seed that lead to him becoming a successful seed merchant in that country. Almost a century later, James’s great grandson Arthur opened a specialised seed business in New Zealand and operated it with his brother. Subsequent generations of Yates followed in operation of the family business.  

Philip Yates had negotiated an agreement with Pioneer for the family business to become the New Zealand distributor and producer of Pioneer brand seed in 1975. He and his son Will Yates negotiated to acquire the same agreement in Australia. Will is the seventh generation of the family to be involved in the seed trade and leads both the New Zealand and Australian Yates family seed businesses. Significant opportunities for efficiency are realised through a collaborative approach between the two businesses, who are cooperative in maximising the mutual relationship benefits with Pioneer and Corteva globally for the ultimate benefit of the Australian broadacre farmer.

Pictured: Phillip and Will Yates

Pioneer Seeds has played a leading role in the conversion of open pollinated canola to hybrid production systems, bringing a step-change opportunity for the performance and profitability standards that Australian canola growers can now expect. Since 2020, momentum continues to swing further to hybrid seed in the market through exciting new developments in Pioneer Seed’s canola commercial offering, including: 

• The release of Pioneer Seeds Australia’s first Triazine Tolerant and Clearfield combination hybrid in 2022, 

• The release of the first Optimum GLY tolerance trait canola hybrid in 2023 and the first Optimum GLY and Clearfield tolerance trait hybrid in 2024. 

• The release of the Nexera specialty Omega-9 oil canola hybrid, offering growers access to a differentiated and growing global canola market, in 2024. 

The A Series grain sorghum range continues to exhibit the strong characteristics of performance and reliability that it was built on in the years following its debut, in which it was first released to the market, and new grain sorghum hybrids A50 and A90 will be released commercially to the market in 2025.

The Pioneer Seeds summer crop portfolio will also see the exciting addition of three new category-leading corn hybrid products in 2025. In addition to the new full season processing hybrid, P1729, a short season grain and silage hybrid, P9978, and the exciting new short season, silage and quick grain hybrid P92575. An innovation in trans-Tasman genetics, P92575 is the first corn hybrid to be bred collaboratively with germplasm from New Zealand in Australia, unlocking shorter season genetics with shorter GDU (growing degree units) periods to suit the southern market. 

Today, the Pioneer team in Australia consists of over 120 staff in Australia, in addition to the range of staff supporting the Australian business from New Zealand and beyond. The team lives and works across the country in key farming communities, from as far south as Esperance WA and Cobden VIC, all the way up to Innisfail QLD in the north. Pioneer Seeds has key office, research and production facilities at Narromine NSW and in the Darling Downs region in QLD, including the head office in Toowoomba.

Looking to the next 50 years, Pioneer Seeds Australia seeks to continue the legacy of exceptional product performance in alignment with boots-on-the-ground service. In addition to the exciting developments in upcoming hybrids, the company also seeks to enhance its support of farmers, by appointing three new Territory Sales Managers (TSMs) in South-West Victoria and South-East South Australia, Gippsland and Tasmania, and Esperance WA, and two Dairy Specialists, dedicated to maximising the return on investment in maize silage for dairy farmers, alongside the ever-growing research, production and administration teams. Pioneer remains committed to the future of the industry, as 2025 will also see the introduction of the Pioneer Seeds Graduate Program. 

The last 50 years of Pioneer in Australia have laid the groundwork for the present and future endeavours of the business. As we approach a new era in 2025, Pioneer Seeds is poised to continue the legacy of innovation and adaptability to the benefit of Australian broadacre crop production.