Biobased Upstream: A Yield revolution that anyone can Join

Beck’s joins the Benson Hill Biosystems genetics ecosystem

In Missouri, more signs of the democratization of crop genetics arrives with news major seed retailer Beck’s will leverage CropOS, Benson Hill’s cognitive platform, to accelerate and enhance their corn breeding program.

The Beck’s’ backstory

Beck’s is a family-owned and operated seed company that serves farmers in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin — all those newly-minted Trump states where the President-elect is currently on his ‘victory tour’. Overall, Beck’s ranks as the sixth largest seed company in the United States and the largest retail, family-owned US seed company. More about them here.

The program ahead

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.

Countering industry consolidation with innovator collaboration

“To meet global challenges in agriculture and provide farmers with additional choices,” said Benson Hill CEO Matt Crisp, “we need more innovation in crop genomics. In the face of additional consolidation, we need to empower a broader agriculture community of innovators.”

Or, as Winston Churchill once observed, “there’s someone who knows more than anyone, and that’s everyone.”

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.

Recation from the stakeholders

“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.” said Curtis Wiltse, Research Manager at Beck’s.