Sakata Seed America Announces Infrastructure Expansion in Major California Growing Regions; Plans to Relocate Headquarters to Woodland in 2024

Sakata Seed America has officially announced two new business establishments in California’s major agricultural centers: Salinas Valley and Woodland, California. 

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

The planned relocation to the Woodland Innovation Center (WIC) will follow the second phase of an infrastructure expansion project that began in 2016. WIC 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. In addition, there is ample farmland to host Sakata’s annual California Field Days event and serve as a permanent trialing location for the company’s expanding breeding programs and research & development department. 

“The expansion of our Woodland Innovation Center is an exciting and necessary step for the future of Sakata. 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,” states Dave Armstrong, President & CEO of Sakata Seed America.

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. The Marina Distribution Center is now home to the company’s lettuce seed program and in future will store and deliver multiple species, including Sakata’s robust 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.  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,” notes John Nelson, Executive Vice President.

Sakata Seed America has long been known for its outstanding brand presence and market share in broccoli and has also made significant investments in recent years in infrastructure and personnel to expand its market share in multiple other crops.  The Company’s efforts are focused on integrating a network of research stations throughout North America, including its recently opened Culiacán Innovation Center in Mexico, to foster collaboration for Sakata’s global breeding team on tomato, pepper, watermelon and melon, among others. 

To learn more about Sakata genetics, company history, personnel, and career opportunities, please visit SakataVegetables.com. 

About Sakata Seed America: Headquartered in Morgan Hill, CA, Sakata Seed America is a major research, seed production and marketing-distribution subsidiary of Sakata Seed Corporation, established in 1913 in Yokohama, Japan.   Sakata Seed America serves as the headquarters for the North American operations. Sakata’s objective is to quickly and efficiently meet industry expectations for quality seed, innovative genetics and excellent greenhouse and field performance.