On Mar. 4, 2020, Bayer announced it had opened what the firm calls its new smart, state-of-the-art, automated greenhouse facility in Marana, Arizona. Company officials says this is part of Bayer’s plan to provide farmers with innovative, sustainable, and technically advanced agricultural solutions.

Bayer officials say the Marana greenhouse facility is the first of its kind for the company and the most technically advanced. The approximately $100 million facility will serve as a global product design center for corn, the only crop to be grown there. Additionally, the Marana facility will capitalize on innovation advancements in proprietary seed chipping, advanced marker technology, automation, and data science.

The Marana greenhouses, which occupy 300,000 square feet of growing space, are designed for the sustainable use of inputs throughout the research process, say Bayer officials. Water used for crops will be recycled, which helps preserve precious desert water supplies; 100% of harvested materials will be used for compost, and beneficial insects will be used to reduce pesticide applications.

Locating the Marana greenhouses in the Arizona desert instead of the traditional corn-growing region of the Midwest allows more days of warmth and sunlight, say Bayer officials. This allows researchers to maintain plants year-round, enabling three to four corn crop cycles to occur annually.

Also, by using the controlled environment of the greenhouses, the indoor breeding process eliminates crop exposure to adverse weather conditions and prevents new seed development delays. Growing conditions can be customized to simulate various climate conditions around the world.