OUR STORY
After leaving DuPont Pioneer, Todd Krone took a leap of faith to focus on solving one of the most significant biological processes in agriculture – pollination. As ideas began to form, he engaged friend and professional collaborator, Jason Cope, whose engineering expertise and previous inventions complimented Todd’s expertise in plant breeding and genetics. In the spring of 2015, the two set up shop in Todd’s garage to ultimately invent solutions and processes by which corn pollen could be collected, preserved and then applied.
From its early days, PowerPollen received strong support from investors to complete its research and development stage – equity investors included two highly recognized global agribusinesses as well as the Iowa Corn Growers Association – further validating the market’s interest in pollination technology.
In 2018, PowerPollen successfully proved its pollen collection, preservation and application process, then scaled field operations using custom designed machinery across in-field production on twenty-two customer fields at eight different seed production centers across Iowa, Indiana and Illinois.
The company continues to attract top talent, including scientists, agronomists, engineers and marketers, and expanded its operations in Iowa, Texas and Puerto Rico. In 2019, the Puerto Rico corn research capability was fully operational year-round thereby accelerating in-field testing capabilities beyond the Midwest.
Our mission remains to preserve and enhance crop productivity by enabling superior pollination systems. We are excited to continue growing together.
Co-Founders Jason Cope and Todd in PowerPollen growth chamber.