KWS Seeds Breaks Ground on New Research Facility for Sugarbeet Farming
April 21, 2025 On April 15, plant breeding company KWS Seeds started construction on its advanced greenhouse research facility in North America that will focus on improving the performance, profitability, and sustainability of sugarbeet farming.
The facility will expand the operations at the KWS Seeds breeding and research station in Kimberly, Idaho, with the construction of two greenhouse facilities. One of the greenhouses will be committed to seedling production for sugarbeet trialing and the other will focus on research to improve the control of plant disease.
KWS Seeds’ sugarbeet seed varieties are marketed through ACH Seeds and Betaseed seed companies. The company is working with Ceres Greenhouse Solutions based in Boulder, Colo., to design the facility and install the high-tech equipment and systems. Ceres is managing the construction project and working with the general contractor, Starr Corporation in Twin Falls, Idaho.
The technologies, design, and automation developed by Ceres will advance KWS Seeds’ research and development goals for sugarbeet farming, said Margaret Rekoske, Lead Breeder for the U.S. with KWS Seeds.
The KWS Seeds breeding research station in Idaho is one of five breeding research stations in the United States. The 230-acre research site in Idaho is dedicated to trait and hybrid development for irrigated markets in the Western U.S. and around the world. KWS expanded its research capabilities at Kimberly in 2019 with investments that featured a new seed processing facility and other new buildings to increase plant research capabilities in breeding. The new greenhouse project is scheduled for completion in April 2026.
