USDA Proposes Moving Two Critical Seed Banks From University of Illinois Campus

Federal plan threatens decades of agricultural research in Champaign-Urbana

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is proposing to move two of the nation's most important seed banks from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, a decision that could disrupt agricultural research across the country.

The Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center includes 100,000 corn stocks representing genetic mutants, some collected as long as 100 years ago and are irreplaceable. The National Soybean Germplasm Collection is the only public soybean seed bank in the country and holds nearly the entire crop's genetic diversity.

Samples from the collections at the University of Illinois are shipped to scientists around the world who are studying crop yield and disease resistance.

Why the move is controversial

Both collections have been housed on the university's campus for decades, but the USDA is proposing moving the maize center to Ames, Iowa, and the soybean collection to Columbia, Missouri.

University of Illinois crop sciences professor Martin Bohn expressed concern that the proposed locations may not have the physical infrastructure or experienced personnel to properly care for the collections.

The material in the stock center is very special and requires expertise to handle, Bohn said. The seeds are stored in cold storage under precise conditions and are planted and grown to harvest new seeds on a regular basis.

The new locations would likely need to build new facilities to house the collections, which would be very expensive because the facilities in Urbana are already here, said Brian Diers, an emeritus professor of crop sciences at the University of Illinois.

Federal justification

In a statement, a USDA spokesperson said the proposal aligns with the organizational restructuring of the agency directed by President Donald Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

The restructuring is also an example of REE embracing commitment to USDA's reorganization plan by relocating many REE positions to areas closer to the farmers and ranchers we serve, the spokesperson said.

Illinois was the top soybean producing state in 2025 with more than 600 million bushels, according to USDA's crop production summary, and Illinois was second in corn production, behind Iowa, producing 2.3 billion bushels last year.

Experts weigh in

Vivian Bernau, who previously worked at the USDA curating a major maize collection and is now preservation director at Seed Savers Exchange, said she has not heard a good argument from the federal agency on why the collections should be moved.

Other than they're in a blue state is a theme that has arisen multiple times, Bernau said.

But both seed banks are incredibly important for research, Bernau said. They support the activities of private companies, of university researchers, of individual breeders. They provide materials that help to advance crop development and maintain our excellence in crop production across the country.

Bernau, like researchers at the University of Illinois, said there are potential risks to moving the materials across state lines. I think that those actions will be incredibly disruptive to the regular maintenance of the gene banks themselves and also to the research that those gene banks support across the country, Bernau said.

For the soybean collection, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign offers a unique location for the seeds to be replenished, Bernau said, providing an environment where plants from the far northern Midwest and southern Midwest grow well. Columbia, Missouri, does not offer the same range.

Uncertainty about final destinations

The USDA has not yet specified exactly where it is proposing to move the seed banks.

Experts think the soybean collection would be moved to the University of Missouri in Columbia. The university declined to comment on the potential move.

It is also unclear if the maize center would be relocated to the North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station or to Iowa State University's campus, according to Steve Harris, chair of the university's Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology.

Iowa State has the expertise to take on the collection, Harris said, but he admits he is torn on the potential move.

I can see the benefits to Iowa State, and I can see the benefits to the college by having it nearby and combined with the Plant Introduction Station and their resources, Harris said. But by the same token, I can also see the impacts it would have at Illinois.

Stakes for future agriculture

It is not like you can just get insurance and replace it if it is lost, Harris said. They are irreplaceable stock.

A truck breaking down or a freezer faltering could risk the loss of materials, Harris said.

Bohn worries having collections go offline during the move or while a facility is built could be catastrophic.

If the collection were moved despite these shortcomings, then the collection will be destroyed, Bohn said.

More details on how the collections will be moved and stored will be available in the near future, according to the USDA.