On June 4, 2018, Bloomberg Environment (subscription required) reported on the planned spinoff of DowDupont Inc’s Corteva Agriscience (Corteva) unit. This split, which is expected to occur by June 1, 2019, was originally announced on February 26, 2018, stating that Corteva will become a separate company quickly followed by Dow and DuPont as they split back into two companies. Corteva will focus on new gene-editing technology, including CRISPR-Cas9 that allows it to use genes from within a plants own DNA to create new traits, including pest resistance. Because Corteva is using existing genes rather than introducing foreign genes into plants, it has so far enjoyed lighter regulatory scrutiny than other genetically engineered crop projects. Corteva also intends to use big data to help farmers calculate specific quantities of seeds and chemicals to maximize production while minimizing costs. The emerging field of digital agriculture is expected to have a significant impact on the industry.

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