The Raymond F. Baker Center for Plant Breeding is dedicated to advance the science of plant breeding through hypothesis driven research; develop enhanced germplasm and superior cultivars of improved productivity, nutritional value, and adaptability; and educate the next generation of public and private plant breeders. The Raymond F. Baker Center in Plant Breeding is affiliated with the Plant Sciences Institute and the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University.
Raymond F. Baker (1906-1999)
Raymond Baker (1906-1999) was a lead plant breeder at Pioneer Hi-Bred International for 43 years, where he developed many of the company’s first corn hybrids. Raymond F. Baker was born on a farm near Beaconsfield in Ringgold County, Iowa. He attended Iowa State College (now Iowa State University) and majored in agriculture. He became interested in plant breeding when he met Henry Wallace, founder of the Hi-Bred Corn Company, later named Pioneer Hi-bred Corn Company. Henry Wallace hired Baker to work for Pioneer Hi-bred Corn Company. During those early years, Wallace taught Baker the techniques and procedures of plant breeding. In 1933, when Wallace became Secretary of Agriculture in the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Baker became Pioneer's lead plant breeder. His rigorous scientific methods helped to lay the groundwork that made Pioneer Hi-bred the successful seed corn company it is today. He retired in 1971 and he was awarded an honorary PhD Degree at Iowa State University in 1991.