1986 Puerto Rico

The Illinois Crop Improvement Puerto Rico farm had its first paying customers during the winter of 1986-87 after a rough start with a 0.6-acre test plot of corn planted in 1985. The farm owes its existence to the post-control requirements of the OECD Seed Schemes. There was also a desire to grow out results before the next temperate growing season and a need for counter-season breeding and seed production activities. Despite the challenges of the tropics, the farm was established as a provider of grow-outs, followed by nursery and seed increase services. By the decade’s end, the farm had grown to 159 acres. Initially a corn-only operation, the farm expanded to soybean, peanut, sorghum, and other crops. The farm has also added and subtracted acres, stabilizing at 200 in the mid-2010s. The farm operates 12 months a year, providing a continuous breeding program and “winter” services to northern and southern hemisphere clients. Crops include corn, soybean, spring grains, sunflower, peanut, sorghum, millet, cowpea, tobacco , and dry beans.