Producer
Bayer Crop Science
Bayer AG Crop Science division (Monheim am Rhein, Germany; XETRA: BAYN; ~€23B Crop Science revenue 2023) invented imidacloprid in 1985 and co-developed clothianidin with Nippon Soda (licensed from Takeda Chemical). Imidacloprid is the best-selling insecticide in the world by value (~$1.1B annual sales) across foliar, soil-drench, trunk-injection, and aquatic-herbicide use patterns — including structural pest control (termite soil treatments, whitefly foliar sprays on vegetables) and vector control programs (mosquito/bed bug treatments in public health applications). Bayer manufactures imidacloprid and clothianidin technical grade at Dormagen and Leverkusen (North Rhine-Westphalia) and at Monheim R&D/production. Post-2018 EU outdoor ban, Bayer pivoted residual imidacloprid volume toward non-EU foliar markets (India, Brazil, US, Southeast Asia) and veterinary/companion animal applications (Seresto collar — transferred to Elanco 2020).
8
Inputs supplied
4
Goods downstream
8
Facilities
0
Stories
What they make
8 inputs Bayer Crop Science supplies
Click an input to see every good that depends on it, every country that produces it, and every other company in the supply chain.
chemical
Neonicotinoid Seed Treatment Active Ingredients →
agricultural
Corn Hybrid Parental Inbred Lines →
chemical
Neonicotinoid Active Ingredients (Imidacloprid / Thiamethoxam) →
chemical
Pesticides and fungicides (fresh produce) →
chemical
Seed Treatment Fungicide Active Ingredients →
chemical
Fungicides (Coffee Leaf Rust Control) →
chemical
Pyrethroid Acid Intermediates (DCVA / DMCA) →
chemical
Glyphosate Technical Active Ingredient →
Where it shows up
Goods downstream
Essential goods that depend on something Bayer Crop Science makes, pick one to see the full supply chain.
Where they make it
8 facilities
Bayer CHEMPARK Leverkusen Crop Science →
DENorth Rhine-Westphalia · manufacturing
CHEMPARK Leverkusen (managed by Currenta GmbH; ~30,000 employees on-site); Bayer CropScience manufactures tebuconazole (Folicur) and prothioconazole (Proline) active ingredients at this campus. One of Europe's most concentrated chemical production sites — also home to Lanxess and Covestro. Tebuconazole is the #1-selling triazole fungicide globally; prothioconazole is a leading SDHI-like carboxamide. Source: https://www.chempark.de/en/locations/leverkusen/
Bayer Crop Science Chesterfield Village Research Center (St. Louis MO) →
USMissouri · lab
Bayer Crop Science (formerly Monsanto) Chesterfield Village Research Center in St. Louis County, Missouri — the historic heart of Monsanto's agricultural biotech empire. The 400-acre Chesterfield campus houses the corn trait development laboratories where RoundupReady corn (first commercialized 1996) and Bt corn traits (YieldGard Corn Borer, 1996; SmartStax multi-trait stack, 2009) were developed. Monsanto's Chesterfield facility was the birthplace of agricultural genetic modification at commercial scale. The trait technology developed here — herbicide tolerance and insect resistance — is now licensed to and embedded in seeds from Corteva, Syngenta, and dozens of regional seed companies. Chesterfield also houses the corn and soybean germplasm for DEKALB brand seed. Source: Bayer AG Annual Report 2024; https://www.bayer.com/en/agriculture
Bayer Crop Science Monheim Campus →
DENorth Rhine-Westphalia · manufacturing
Bayer Crop Science Monheim am Rhein campus (North Rhine-Westphalia Germany; ~4,000 employees at primary Crop Science global HQ); manufactures imidacloprid (Confidor/Gaucho) active ingredient and spirotetramat (Movento) active ingredient. Imidacloprid was discovered at the Monheim site by Bayer chemist Shinzo Kagabu in the 1980s — making Monheim the birthplace of the neonicotinoid insecticide class. Monheim is also Bayer's global crop protection R&D hub. Source: https://www.bayer.com/en/agriculture/monheim-crop-science-center
Bayer Crop Science Monheim R&D and Production Complex →
DENorth Rhine-Westphalia · manufacturing
Bayer's Monheim am Rhein site is the global headquarters and primary R&D center for Bayer Crop Science — the birthplace of imidacloprid (synthesized 1985, commercialized 1991 as Gaucho and Admire). The Monheim complex manufactures crop protection active ingredients including imidacloprid technical grade for non-seed-treatment applications (foliar Admire Pro, soil-drench Bayer Tree & Shrub Insect Control, structural termite treatments) and operates global regulatory dossier management. Monheim is Bayer's most strategically sensitive crop protection location. Source: Bayer AG Annual Report 2023; Monheim am Rhein site overview.
Bayer Crop Science Monheim Research and Manufacturing →
DENorth Rhine-Westphalia · lab
Bayer Crop Science's Monheim am Rhein campus is the primary R&D and manufacturing center for Bayer's pyrethroid insecticide portfolio including lambda-cyhalothrin (Karate). The Monheim campus represents one of the few remaining large-scale Western European pyrethroid manufacturing operations as Chinese generic producers have captured most commodity pyrethroid volume.
Bayer Dormagen Chemical Production Site →
DENorth Rhine-Westphalia
Bayer's Dormagen site (ChemPark Dormagen, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a major active ingredient manufacturing site for Bayer Crop Science, including production of crop protection chemicals. Dormagen is one of the largest integrated chemical production parks in Germany, housing Bayer, Lanxess, and other tenants across ~3,000 acres. Neonicotinoid intermediates and technical grade material are produced at this site.
Bayer Dormagen Chemical Production Site (ChemPark) →
DENorth Rhine-Westphalia
Bayer's Dormagen site (ChemPark Dormagen, North Rhine-Westphalia; ~3,000 acres, ~5,000 workers across multiple tenants including Lanxess and Covestro) is a primary active ingredient manufacturing location for Bayer Crop Science, producing imidacloprid and clothianidin technical grade for global foliar and soil-treatment markets. The site is one of Germany's largest integrated chemical parks, with Rhine River access for raw material logistics. Following the 2018 EU outdoor ban, Dormagen-produced neonicotinoid volume was partially redirected toward export markets (Brazil, India, US, Southeast Asia) and the veterinary/structural pest control channels. Source: Bayer AG Annual Report 2023; ChemPark Dormagen site documentation.
Bayer Luling Louisiana Glyphosate Plant →
USLouisiana
What else they do
Business segments
The company's full revenue map, where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.
Herbicides (Roundup/Glyphosate)
38%Fungicides
25%Insecticides (Neonicotinoids)
18%Seeds & Digital Agriculture
19%
Intelligence
What's known
Sourced claims about this company's role in supply chains, chokepoints, concentration, incidents, dual-use connections.
Did you know2024
Bayer AG is simultaneously the maker of aspirin (one of the most consumed human medicines on earth, protecting against cardiovascular disease) AND the maker of neonicotinoid insecticides (which are the primary suspected driver of colony collapse disorder in honeybees). The same pharmaceutical company whose flagship product extends human life is the same agricultural company whose flagship insecticides are implicated in the collapse of the insect pollinators that underpin 70% of food crops. Bayer's pharmaceutical division and its crop science division are not just different business units — they represent internally contradictory supply chain positions in human medicine and food system ecology, connected only through shared corporate ownership.
Bayer AG ↗Concentration2023
Bayer/Monsanto's trait licensing portfolio creates an invisible IP monopoly beneath apparent corn seed brand competition. When a farmer buys Pioneer (Corteva), NK (Syngenta), Channel, or virtually any US corn hybrid, approximately 70-80% of those acres carry RoundupReady (glyphosate herbicide tolerance) and/or Bt insect resistance traits originally developed and patented by Monsanto (now Bayer). Corteva, Syngenta, Wyffels, Beck's, and even many store-brand regional seed companies license these traits from Bayer and pay per-bag royalties (typically $15-40/bag depending on trait stack). Bayer collects trait licensing revenue on approximately 65-80 million US corn acres annually — from seeds it did not breed, did not bag, and did not sell. The original Bt corn patent has expired, but Bayer continues to collect on newer trait stacks (SmartStax, PRECEON Smart Corn System, VT Double Pro). A farmer who switches from DEKALB to Pioneer seed in protest of Bayer remains, unknowingly, a Bayer licensing revenue customer. The apparent competition between corn seed brands conceals a trait IP oligopoly where one company captures royalties regardless of brand choice.
Bayer AG ↗Origin2023
Bayer AG was founded in 1863 in Wuppertal by Friedrich Bayer and Johann Friedrich Weskott as a synthetic dye manufacturer — the synthetic dye industry was the foundation of the modern chemical-pharmaceutical complex. Bayer's chemists invented aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) in 1897 and heroin in 1898, originally marketing heroin as a non-addictive cough suppressant and morphine alternative. After WWII, Bayer was reconstituted separately from IG Farben (the wartime chemical cartel). The 2018 acquisition of Monsanto for $63 billion brought glyphosate (Roundup) herbicide, GM crop traits, and $10+ billion in subsequent cancer litigation into Bayer's portfolio.
Bayer AG ↗Incident2023
Bayer AG's 2018 acquisition of Monsanto for $63B — the largest agrochemical deal in history — has been financially catastrophic due to Roundup glyphosate litigation. Bayer wrote down Monsanto goodwill by €9.8B in 2019, and has paid approximately $12.9B in Roundup cancer settlements through 2024 with ongoing exposure to an estimated 30,000+ unresolved claims (down from 100,000+ at peak). Bayer's stock price fell from ~€95 at deal close (June 2018) to ~€26 by mid-2024 — a 70%+ decline that has erased more shareholder value than the entire deal price. Bayer announced in June 2023 that it would not be able to achieve Supreme Court protection from future Roundup verdicts, committing it to managing litigation indefinitely. The Bayer-Monsanto litigation saga has functionally transferred commercial control of the world's most-used herbicide to Chinese manufacturers: as Bayer's brand and margins are consumed by litigation costs, Chinese producers capture the margin.
Reuters ↗