Ag-biotech company Joyn Bio has signed a long-term lease to locate its plant sciences team within Bayer’s Vegetable Seed Facility in Woodland, California to accelerate ongoing research. In addition, the company has appointed Bayer Head of Research and Development for Crop Science, Dr. Robert Reiter, to its board of directors.

The Joyn R&D team in Boston has developed microbial leads engineered to reduce the amount of traditional chemical fertilizer required for growing crops like corn, wheat and rice. Joyn’s microbes enable plants to partially fulfill their nitrogen needs, offering growers a reliable and sustainable alternative. The Woodland site offers the resources, capacity and scale needed to evaluate microbe performance in commercial crop plants.

The new facility – with 12,500 square-feet of lab, office and greenhouse space – is a significant expansion from Joyn’s current tenancy in the Bayer CoLaborator in West Sacramento. The Woodland location complements Joyn’s existing operations at Ginkgo Bioworks in Boston, where Joyn uses the Ginkgo foundries for biological engineering to develop nitrogen-fixing bacteria based on Bayer’s library of more than 100,000 proprietary microbial strains. Between Northern California and Boston, Joyn is now better equipped to leverage the unique resources of its two parent companies, Bayer and Ginkgo, respectively.

Joyn is pleased to welcome Dr. Reiter as its newest board member. “This technology is expanding the way the industry thinks about sustainable agricultural and the deep expertise Joyn’s team brings to the table, coupled with Bayer’s extensive knowledge in microbial products, gives them a real advantage in this space,” said Reiter. “The need for agricultural practices that are good for both the planet and farmers is coming into clearer focus every day. I’m thrilled to be a part of building those solutions.”

Reiter brings nearly 30 years of experience in discovering, developing and delivering innovative R&D approaches in crop science. As a member of Bayer’s executive leadership team, Reiter oversees the crop science research and development pipeline, leading thousands of scientists in building world-class agricultural solutions with the goal of helping farmers grow enough safe and affordable food while protecting the planet.