The Pioneer seed company will make a several hundred thousand dollar investment in Lawrence to establish a new soybean research center near Lawrence Municipal Airport.

Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., which is owned by chemical giant DuPont, announced Thursday that it had completed a deal to open a three-employee office in Lawrence that will develop new soybean varieties for eastern Kansas and western Missouri.

“Your area has a history of growing very good soybeans,” said Dennis Byron, vice president of crop product development with Johnston, Iowa-based Pioneer. “That’s part of the reason why we’re coming there.”

Byron said Lawrence was well-situated to serve the area. The company will lease farmland from about 10 to 12 producers in the region to test new varieties of soybeans. The company’s researchers will aim to create new varieties that are more resistant to drought and disease.

The company has agreed to lease office space along North 1823 Road in the industrial park near Capitol Concrete, just north of Teepee Junction.

Byron said the research center likely would grow to six or seven full-time employees in the next couple of years, and he also expects the company to employ 10 to 20 part-time workers to help with planting and harvesting operations.

“Right now, it is a several hundred thousand dollar investment we’re making in the community, but we expect it to grow to more than a million dollars a year,” Byron said.

DuPont is investing $100 million a year into its seed business. The Lawrence soybean research center will be Pioneer’s 14th regional center for soybeans.

Lawrence Chamber of Commerce leaders said in a press release late Thursday afternoon that they believed Pioneer’s decision to locate in Lawrence would help the community attract other bioscience companies.