Sakata Seed America moving headquarters to Woodland, California

In a press release, Sakata Seed America two new business establishments in Salinas Valley, California and Woodland, California.

Since 1988, Sakata Seed America has operated its North American headquarters in Morgan Hill, California. Per the release, the company has "initiated plans to relocate its headquarters, including all operations and personnel functions, to its 219-acre site in Woodland, California by late 2024."

“The expansion of our Woodland Innovation Center is an exciting and necessary step for the future of Sakata," said Dave Armstrong, President & CEO of Sakata Seed America, in the release. "As we broaden our leadership position in a range of warm crops, it’s imperative that we support our growing business and deepen our roots in one of the world’s most dynamic growing regions: the ‘Silicon Valley of seed.’ Our headquarters relocation to Woodland reflects our commitment to California’s vital agriculture and seed sectors, and the investment enables us to consolidate R&D and multiple other functions on a single, state of the art campus."

The relocation, per Sakata, continues an expansion project that began in 2016. Per the release, the Woodland Innovation Center "celebrated its official opening in 2018, when phase one of the building project was completed, which boasted 16-acres of operational facilities, including greenhouses, a LEED-certified office, headhouse, washery, a 25,000 square-foot warehouse, featuring the latest technology in seed processing equipment, and farm shop." There is also land to serve as the company's trailing location, R&D department and annual California Field Days.   

In May of this year, Sakata also opened a new facility in Marina, California, near Salinas. The Sakata Marina Distribution Center is a 20,000 square-foot, temperature-controlled warehouse and office building. It is home to the company’s lettuce seed program and, in the future, will store and deliver multiple species, including Sakata’s brassica program, for the Coastal California region in 2024. 

“We aim to supply high quality seed and market leading genetics to the Salinas Valley, a community in which we’ve grown and operated since 1985," said John Nelson, Sakata's Executive Vice President. "Marina is centrally located in the area and provides us with all means necessary to support our innovative breeding programs, as well as our growth in the Salinas Valley and neighboring growing regions."