Benson Hill announced the launch of the Benson Hill Food System Innovators Program (the “FSI Program”) on Aug. 5. Through this new program, Benson Hill is collaborating with farmers to evaluate the company’s technologies — these insights will be used to better improve their CropOS platform.
One near-term focus of the FSI Program is to continue maximizing the protein content of Benson Hill’s soybean varieties intended for the human food ingredients market, the company said in a release.
“With Benson Hill’s Food System Innovators Program, we’re able to be on the cutting edge of what’s happening in agriculture today,” said Aaron Lee, a FSI Program farmer of Cornerstone Family Farms in Salem, Indiana. “We’re striving to produce the best product we can and add value to our operation, and Benson Hill is right there beside us. We’re eliminating waste, improving efficiency and driving toward a more sustainable operation. It’s exciting to play a role in changing the food system.”
The program covers farmers in six different states and is designed for farmers who have a demonstrated track record as early innovation adopters, including deploying precision agriculture technologies. It enables a two-way flow of information, directly connecting farmers with Benson Hill’s research and product development team. Participating farmers will benefit from early access to the latest Benson Hill product concepts and potential premium opportunities in plant-based protein and other high-value markets.
“Real-time feedback on performance, productivity and other factors is foundational to future innovation at Benson Hill,” said Matt Crisp, CEO of Benson Hill. “Our farmer partners recognize the growing market demand for plant-based food solutions as an opportunity rooted in better seeds. They share our vision for a modern and more resilient food system that can deliver high-quality, high-protein, sustainable ingredients to meet this demand while supporting strong farmer ROI.”
