We began as the plant sciences business of The Dow Chemical Company, which was founded in 1897. A joint venture with Eli Lilly and Company in 1989 created DowElanco. With a focus on sustainable agriculture, DowElanco combined the leading chemistries of The Dow Chemical Company with those of the agricultural division of Eli Lilly. In 1997, The Dow Chemical Company acquired full ownership of the business and named the business Dow Agro Sciences. Today, we employ more than 8,000 people worldwide, and our 2013 global sales were $7.1 billion (U.S .).