• The executive summary of USB’s “The Transition to Constituent Value (CV) Determination” states that levels of protein, carbohydrates, and oil drive value to end-users. This grant proposal provides solutions to the essential improvement in constituent values, in that improved protein and reduced carbohydrates are included in new high yield varieties available to seed markets in 2020 for major maturity groups. In addition, new improved varieties will be available in 2020-2021 with increased protein, lower carbohydrates (raffino-stachyose) all combined with high oleic and low linolenic oils.

Updated December 9, 2019:
Benson Hill has made good progress with this project in the 2019 season. After a successful winter nursery season, we have been able to get our materials in the ground during a very challenging season. We were able to get our production areas planted and most of the areas are either being harvested or are progressing toward harvest at this point, although like many commercial fields, it may be a later than normal harvest. In our seedstock program, about 40% of our acreage is in the high protein area. Our summer nurseries are also on track to give us a good potential for new materials going into the 2019 winter and 2020 season. The team had a very successful crossing season and we are evaluating the nurseries to begin the selections for yield testing in 2020. We have had these progeny rows verified through our marker lab to confirm the presence of the desired traits. We are in the process of taking notes and harvesting our lines at 20+ yield locations located in the Midwest, Midsouth, and East Coast. High protein lines make up about 40% of our yield test entries. I am very impressed with the progress we have made, not only in the agronomics, but also in disease tolerance, and early yield reports indicate that we have made advancements there, also.