Benson Hill Biosystems is an agriculture technology company focused on improving crop performance using big data analytics and plant genomics. The company collaborates with organizations to harness genetic variation through breeding, trait development, and genome editing to enhance the sustainability of food, feed, fiber and fuel production.
GDM Seeds is a global soybean research, development and commercialization company that also breeds, develops and commercializes wheat varieties. Approximately 20% of the global soybean commercial production is derived from GDM’s propriety genetics, the company said.
As part of the new partnership, GDM said it plans to leverage CropOS, Benson Hill’s cognitive platform, to improve and enhance its soybean research program worldwide. Benson Hill said CropOS identifies the most promising genetics for any targeted outcome from higher yield to environmental sustainability or enhanced nutrition, and the platform’s machine learning capability calibrates and evolves with each field trial and data set, improving its predictive capability.
“Benson Hill’s platform provides access to data and predictive analytics to accelerate the plant breeding process and enable our team to bring improved varieties to the market faster,” said Marcos Quiroga, director of research and development at GDM. “With decades of experience in soybean breeding, we recognize the importance of leveraging the most advanced technologies to bring more choice to our customers. Our collaboration with Benson Hill enables our team to leverage their advanced capabilities to enhance our existing program.”
Matthew Crisp, chief executive officer of Benson Hill, added, “GDM’s mission to employ the best science and provide greater choice for growers aligns with Benson Hill’s vision to empower a broader community of agriculture innovators for the benefit of local communities, our society and our planet. The Benson Hill team is eager to equip our newest partner with the capabilities of CropOS to more rapidly advance its soybean breeding efforts.”
