Mere weeks before Corteva’s planned corporate spin-out, executive teams from the crop protection and seed and genetics businesses shared their visions for the future during separate investor day presentations on Sept. 15.
Nearly a year ago, Corteva revealed plans to split into two companies, with New Corteva housing its crop protection business, and Vylor its seeds and genetics segment.
The growth of Corteva’s standalone crop protection business will be built on the company’s research and development pipeline, tailored go-to-market strategies, and extending the value of active ingredients through new formulations and mixtures, executives shared in the dedicated New Corteva presentation.
Over the last decade, Corteva launched seven new active chemicals, expected to generate $1.4 billion in 2026 and approximately $2.5 billion in peak revenue, said Luke Kissam, CEO of Corteva’s crop protection business.
Corteva plans to launch 12 new products in the following decade, including five biologicals, which has “the potential to create approximately $4 billion of peak revenue,” he added.
“Corteva has a balanced portfolio. We’re not a one-trick pony. We’re not dependent on any one geography, one crop, one segment, or one active ingredient, and that balance is critical because products evolve and grower needs change over time. Our goal will be to keep that portfolio balanced, relevant, differentiated, and aligned with the needs of growers,” Kissam elaborated.
From R&D to generic competition: How Corteva develops, defends ag innovation
Corteva’s crop protection innovation portfolio is powered by a microbial discovery platform, an integrated development platform with AI capabilities, and a predictive safety platform to de-risk regulatory challenges, explained Reza Rasoulpour, CTO at Corteva.
The company is sitting on an $11 billion pipeline with “many opportunities across multiple crops and time horizons to consistently deliver value,” he added.
With every new active ingredient innovation, generic off-brand alternatives hit the market, putting pressure on Corteva’s margin and sales.
Corteva is staying ahead of the competition by releasing new products through mixing actives, explained Brook Cunningham, chief commercial officer at Corteva. Since 2020, Corteva launched over 1,000 products, which equates to approximately 3,200 regulatory approvals and 3,800 patents globally, Rasoulpour noted.
“As the patent matures, we defend that premium through new formulations, mixtures, and claims that extend the value of the active ingredient, and eventually every molecule reaches commoditization. That’s the moment that generics are waiting for, but we don’t wait for them. We move ahead of the curve,” she elaborated.
Corteva tailors go-to-market strategy to fit farmers’ needs
Corteva is tailoring its go-to-market approach for key markets, like Brazil, which have different farmer buying patterns based on region, Cunningham explained.
Brazil’s addressable crop protection market is worth $14 billion, split between $8 billion in the north and $6 billion in the south, with the company generating roughly $1.7 billion in revenue today, she added.
“North and South Brazil are fundamentally different markets, so we don’t treat them the same, and we continue to proactively evolve our model in response to a rapidly changing competitive landscape,” Cunningham noted.
Corteva has a direct sales model with a third of the customers paying through a barter or credit program in northern Brazil, which represents a portion of the country’s large broadacre agricultural production, Cunningham explained. In southern Brazil, Corteva works through its Emblema regional distributors and a cooperative program called Escalas, she added.
“Beneath both models is a fit-for-purpose portfolio — new innovation like Gaviza, expanded biologicals led by Utrisha, and selective post-patent formulations that bridge us to the next generation of active ingredients. Same country, very different customers and very different routes to market. But one principle: understand where value is created, and you build the commercial model around it,” she elaborated.
The planned spin-off remains on track but faces opposition from a group of state attorneys general over PFAS liability concerns (i.e., forever chemicals). In a press release, Corteva defended its products by stating, it “has never made, sold or traded PFOA or PFOS products.”
