Corn genetics lab faces relocation, pending 2026 federal budget
University of Illinois's National Soybean Germplasm Collection is the largest soybean seed bank in North America. The Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center houses more than 100,000 genetic corn mutants.
Illini Solar Car team wins national competition
The federal budget item would relocate the soybean collection to Columbia, Missouri and the corn stock center to Ames, Iowa — locations an Illinois professor said might be unfit to take care of them.
'They don't have the facilities right now and the capabilities right now to absorb that collection here from the University of Illinois,' said Dr. Martin Bohn, an associate professor in crop sciences. 'The research enterprise that we are engaged in, studying the genetics of important characteristics, you know, will be broken.'
According to the College of ACES at the University of Illinois, the relocation would not save money for the federal government. Instead, it would cost more to relocate the facilities.
They also said the item is being discussed in a senate appropriation committee and there's no timeline for when the center might have to move.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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