USA – Benson Hill, Inc., a leading seed innovation company based in St. Louis, Missouri, has announced its plans to deliver new soybean varieties in the coming years.
These varieties are designed to meet the specific needs of larger markets such as animal feed, soybean oil, and biofuels.
The company’s technology-driven approach aims to optimize yield, protein, and oil content in the soybean genome, addressing the current disconnect between soy composition and its intended uses.
Benson Hill’s innovative pipeline includes “dual-value beans,” soybean varieties that can simultaneously improve soybean meal and produce better quality or enhanced oil for the emerging biofuels market.
These advancements are progressing rapidly and are expected to push the limits of protein and yield.
Jason Bull, Benson Hill’s Chief Technology Officer, highlighted the company’s achievements since 2019, noting the significant increase in yield, protein content, and maturity zones.
He stated, “The rate at which we’ve increased yield, boosted protein, and expanded maturity zones since 2019 is far beyond what I have seen in the industry and is a direct result of our technology and focus. Our upcoming innovations are designed to hit purpose-driven outcomes such as better digestibility, higher feed energy density, and improved oils. We believe these technology advances will create significant value downstream.”
Benson Hill’s pipeline through 2032 focuses on three main areas:
Enhancing Varieties for Animal Feed (2024-2027 Launches)
Benson Hill aims to increase the yield potential and expand geographic maturities for its proprietary genetics across the United States. Increasing protein and metabolizable energy will deliver better soybeans for feed applications, such as poultry.
The company expects to broaden its soybean portfolio to 35 varieties by 2025. Non-GMO, Ultra-High Protein Low-Oligosaccharide (UHP-LO) soybean varieties intended for animal feed are projected to yield on par with elite GMO commercial varieties by 2026-27, with herbicide-tolerant varieties slated for 2026.
Improving Oil for Biofuels and Crude Oil Soy Markets (2028-2030 Launches)
Benson Hill is preparing to introduce a range of soybean varieties for biofuels and crude oil applications by the decade’s end. Researchers have identified a promising variety of candidates that could serve a total addressable domestic market of about 50 million US soybean acres.
This initiative underscores Benson Hill’s commitment to sustainability and highlights the potential of soybeans in advancing renewable energy solutions.
Expanding Value Creation for Animal Feed with New Soy Quality Traits (2032 and Beyond)
The company aims to further expand value creation in animal feed with high-yielding soybean varieties featuring higher energy density, better protein quality, improved oil, and reduced anti-nutritional factors. These advancements are expected to deliver significant downstream benefits for the animal feed industry.
Benson Hill attributes its soybean seed advancements to its proprietary genetics, artificial intelligence-driven CropOS, and the Crop Accelerator, a rapid prototyping facility.
Currently, the company offers 22 commercial soybean varieties leveraging germplasm acquired in 2019.
Deanie Elsner, CEO of Benson Hill, emphasized the company’s capabilities, stating, “With the depth of our soybean data, our proprietary soy germplasm, and the millions of data points we analyze, we believe we can solve problems for the soy end user with unmatched precision and speed. Whether we are creating more nutritious soybean meal or delivering improved oil, Benson Hill is poised to elevate the standard for US soy over the next decade.”
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