Global agribusiness giant Cargill is working in partnership with a research platform at the University of Minnesota’s College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences to develop camelina and pennycress as cash crops in the USA.
Planted in rotation with corn and soyabeans or after crops like wheat, winter camelina and pennycress can help protect soil health and improve water quality.
In addition, the high oil content of camelina and pennycress could provide farmers with an opportunity to grow them as cash crops, Cargill said on 10 July.
Cargill said its collaboration with the Forever Green Initiative would focus on the development of high performing seed varieties and farming techniques adapted for growing conditions in the Upper Midwest.
The initiative would combine Cargill’s crop improvement knowledge – including trait discovery, high throughput geno typing, genomic selection, trait development and cellular biology – with the University of Minnesota’s diverse genetics to develop improved varieties of camelina and pennycress, the company said.
“This support from Cargill will take our breeding and genomics work to the next level and help us develop even better varieties of camelina and pennycress for farmers in Minnesota and beyond,” Forever Green Initiative associate director Mitch Hunter said.
The project followed a previously announced US$2.5M grant from Cargill to the University to accelerate research into crop biology and management.
