Developer of 'greener' soy used in aquafeeds goes bust

A US company that developed planet-friendly varieties of soy that were used in feed by trout grower Riverence and aquafeed heavyweight BioMar has filed for bankruptcy.

St Louis-headquartered seed innovator Benson Hill said it intends to pursue a sale of its business including or a portion of the company’s assets, while continuing to support its farmers, partners, and customers during the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.

To facilitate this process, in addition to having the use of its existing cash reserves, Benson Hill has received a commitment of approximately US $11 million in Debtor-in-Possession financing.

Following court approval, the company expects this financing to provide the necessary liquidity to support operations throughout the Chapter 11 process.

Continued service

It has filed a variety of “first-day” motions containing customary relief intended to support its ability to continue its ordinary course of operations, such as continuing to service its customers and honour its obligations to its remaining employees as it begins efforts to sell its assets.

“Benson Hill has made significant strides in advancing our seed innovation portfolio by developing soybeans with enhanced compositional traits that deliver value creation for end users and improved sustainable solutions for growers,” said board chair Dan Jacobi.

“We have worked diligently to transform our business, including reducing costs, divesting assets, retiring debt, and optimising our operations by transitioning to a licensing model. Despite our efforts, a combination of industry challenges and financial constraints has led the Board to determine that a process under Chapter 11 is the best path forward.”

Riverence collaboration

Riverence, the largest land-based producer of steelhead salmon and rainbow trout in North America, announced a collaboration with Benson Hill three years ago.

It was explained at the time that Benson Hill used a combination of machine learning, genetic selection and / or gene editing to produce a range of soy varieties with different characteristics.

Ultra-high protein (UHP) and low anti-nutrient levels in the soy reduce the need for processing steps to concentrate protein levels.

Less water use

The result is a minimally processed ingredient designed as an alternative to commodity soy protein concentrate (SPC) that requires up to 70% less water and up to 50% less CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) to produce than US-sourced SPC.

UHP soy also uses up to 83% less water and up to 89% less CO2e when compared to Brazilian-sourced SPC, accounting for the impacts of deforestation.

“Benson Hill has developed soy ingredients that are uniquely suited for aquaculture and check all the boxes from a nutrition, sustainability and cost perspective,” said Jesse Trushenski, chief science officer of Riverence, said in February 2022.

“It’s exciting to have a product designed for our market that supports improved performance of our fish, is traceable, and has a very clean carbon and water profile. We decided to incorporate Benson Hill’s ingredients again this year and believe it’s the beginning of a long and valuable partnership.”

BioMar

BioMar announced a strategic collaboration with Benson Hill in January 2023 to advance its responsible sourcing programme. The Danish company agreed to use Benson Hill’s UHP soy for consecutive seasons.

“BioMar has made a commitment to reduce the impacts of our feeds, and 97% of the carbon footprint comes from the feed ingredients,” Morten Holdorff Møjbæk, global sourcing director for BioMar Group, said at the time.

“With our exit last year from the Russian raw material market, it was important for us to find suppliers committed to working with us to ensure we deliver on our responsible sourcing ambitions. Benson Hill’s closed-loop business model, robust US farmer network, and ability to trace back to seed make them an ideal collaborator.”