Beck’s partners with Benson Hill Biosystems to innovate corn genetics

Date:12-08-2016

Benson Hill Biosystems, an agricultural technology company unlocking the genetic potential of plants through big data analytics and cloud computing, today announced a partnership with Beck’s, the largest independent, retail seed company in North America. Beck’s will leverage CropOS, Benson Hill’s cognitive platform, to accelerate and enhance their corn breeding program.

As one of the largest seed testing and breeding programs, Beck’s seeks out the latest in breeding technologies to out-yield the competition and provide regional advantage to farmers. CropOS will be added to Beck’s suite of breeding tools to enhance their ability to improve traits that are critical to farmers. Trait categories including emergence, standability, plant health, maturity and yield, enable Beck’s to offer a product-selection program that expands the choices available to farmers.

“Benson Hill’s technology empowers our team to continue addressing regional needs, improve farm productivity and ultimately reach our goal of helping farmers succeed,” said Curtis Wiltse, Research Manager at Beck’s. “In an industry facing increasing consolidation, we are committed to providing farmers with more choices and opportunity. By providing leading-edge science, analytics and computing capabilities, Benson Hill’s platform can accelerate innovation and advance our pipeline to meet farmer needs.”

Benson Hill’s platform combines biological knowledge and genomic data with high-throughput computing—an intersection of disciplines known as cloud biology—to predict biological outcomes and provide critical decision support in advancing breeding programs. CropOS levels the playing field for organizations that desire to use whole-genome information and machine learning to accelerate genetic gains. Researchers can speed up generations of experimentation and pinpoint desired traits for improved plant performance. CropOS’s machine learning intelligently evolves with every experiment or data set, allowing companies to develop higher performing genetics and create more choice in the marketplace.

“To meet global challenges in agriculture and provide farmers with additional choices, we need more innovation in crop genomics. In the face of additional consolidation, we need to empower a broader agriculture community of innovators,” said Matthew Crisp, CEO and co-founder of Benson Hill. “Beck’s mission to provide farmers with the choices they need to succeed aligns with Benson Hill’s drive to build an innovative and sustainable future for farmers, communities and our planet.”