Monsanto announces cotton seed facility in Texas

Construction will begin in March on Monsanto’s state-of-the-art cotton seed processing plant in Lubbock, Texas, with cooperation from the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance.

The new processing facility will give full-time jobs to 40 people when it opens in late 2017. The employees will be responsible for the processing operations, including cleaning, treating and bagging the company's commercial cotton seed for the U.S. Processing facilities already in business will remain open but will focus on support storage and warehousing, pre-commercial operations and research.

“Bringing people, processes and technology together at a new, state-of-the-art cotton facility in Lubbock will boost collaboration and efficiency within our manufacturing organization,” Dave Penn, Monsanto's cotton manufacturing lead, said. “Furthermore, its geographic location in Lubbock, Texas, will allow for better alignment with the cotton industry and help us better serve customers across the Cotton Belt.”

In the summer of 2017, employees in the Arizona, Mississippi and Texas locations will be transitioning to the support side. Any employee who is asked but chooses not to be relocated may receive a severance package.

“Monsanto is proud to be part of the Lubbock community,” Penn said. “As we prepare to break ground on this new facility, that partnership will help us bring better technology and greater efficiency to our operations and pass that value to farmers across the Cotton Belt as they meet the daunting task of feeding and clothing our ever-growing world.”