Yulex seeking growing partners

Yulex Corporation will host a series of meetings next month for farmers and industry leaders in Arizona’s agricultural communities to share information on partnering with Yulex, as well as the company’s guayule (why-YOU-lee) cultivation and expansion plans.

Guayule is grown across Arizona and used in the production of Yulex® rubber and latex emulsions. Yulex hopes to have a manufacturing plant open in a year to employ 60 to 100 individuals in the Maricopa-Casa Grande area.

With the company’s planned expansion, there are new opportunities for growers. “We are currently looking for farmers to commit to growing 6,000 to 8,000 acres of the plant in the desert,” said Dr. Katrina Cornish, the inventor of the process that converts guayule to latex.

Growers can expect to learn about the agricultural best practices and science Yulex has developed to cultivate high latex yields from guayule and more about this new industrial crop.

Guayule has emerged as the premier source of domestic, sustainable, natural rubber. Yulex produces natural rubber and rubber latex from the guayule shrub and is supplying its material to manufacturers of medical, consumer and industrial products eager to replace petroleum-based or imported natural materials from Southeast Asia. The company’s ultimate goal is to decrease America’s dependency on foreign rubber. For more information, visit www.yulex.com.

The meetings are free and open to the public with lunch provided. Seating is limited. To reserve a space contact Jan Davis at [email protected] or 520-381-2112.

If you go:

What: Yulex partnership meetings
When: Sept. 12, 15 and 23 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Where: University of Arizona’s Maricopa Agricultural Center, 37860 W. Smith Enke Rd.
Cost: free (lunch provided)

File photo