A collaboration between a Seymour egg producer and a crop improvement company will open up a new market for local growers of food and feed-grade, identity-preserved, non-genetically modified soybeans.
The announcement of the deal was made Monday morning by Benson Hill, a St. Louis, Missouri-based company.
The collaboration will allow family-owned Rose Acre Farms to optimize its soybean processing capacity in Seymour and build out the supply chain for Benson Hill’s high-protein, high-oleic, low anti-nutrient soybeans, according to the news release.
“We are thrilled to partner with Benson Hill to expand our crushing capacity in Indiana,” said Tony Wesner, chief operating officer for Rose Acre Farms. “We believe this strategic partnership will deliver tremendous value to local farmers and by opening a new market pathway for in-demand soybean ingredients support higher land and commodity prices over time.”
As the second-largest egg producer in the United States, Wesner said they also see the market is moving toward higher protein animal feed, a key attribute of Benson Hill’s soybean portfolio.
Benson Hill has partnered with growers to contract more than 30,000 acres of premium soybeans this growing season, including significant acreage in Indiana.
To minimize cost and the carbon footprint of transportation, Benson Hill sought out Rose Acre Farms as a partner to develop a processing facility in close radius to its grower partners.
This announcement also will support Benson Hill’s plans to significantly increase its future contract acres in the area. Benson Hill and Rose Acre Farms are now actively enrolling interested growers for the 2021 growing season.
Benson Hill provides its cutting-edge soybean food and feed-grade seed varieties through its Benson Hill Seeds division, according to the news release.
The food tech company plans to fully commercialize a line of ultra-high protein soybean varieties in 2021.
For growers and buyers, Benson Hill’s soybean product line combines superior nutritional qualities and oil content with highly competitive yields, offering benefits from seed to shelf, according to the news release.
“Benson Hill’s partnership with Rose Acre Farms further builds out our supply chain infrastructure and enables us to bring our identity-preserved soybeans to more commercial buyers,” said Chris Wilkins, chief operating officer for Benson Hill. “Demand for high-quality, high-protein soybeans — particularly as ingredients to serve the booming plant-based foods market — continues to grow.
“We expect the plant protein market to continue to increase at a double-digit percentage over the next several years, and with value chain partners like Rose Acre Farms and farmer partners across the Midwest, we are well-positioned to capitalize on that demand.”
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