Domesticated pennycress: a new cash cover crop in development

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Domesticated pennycress: a new cash cover crop in development

A new cash and cover crop might soon be a sustainable option for Midwest farmers.

John Sedbrook, a genetics professor at Illinois State University tells Brownfield many farmers will recognize pennycress as a weed.

“We have taken that weed and we have actually domesticated it into a crop that produces oilseeds similar to canola.”

He says they have received a USDA grant to commercialize domesticated pennycress, known as CoverCress, within the next 5 years as well as a Department of Energy grant to make the crop more adaptable to varying weather conditions for the best yield potential.

Sedbrook says the high protein oil from pennycress seeds can be used for human consumption and animal feed as well as biofuel production.

“When fully deployed, pennycress could produce upwards of 3 billion gallons of oil per year, so this is not a minor crop.  This could really help in making a difference in having sustainable agriculture systems for the future.”

He says CoverCress would be grown on bare land during the winter months as a cover crop providing even more environmental and soil health benefits.

Start-up company CoverCress Inc. in St. Louis is working on trait development. Sedbrook says they are also working with representatives from Western Illinois University, USDA’s Ag Research Lab in Peoria, IL, University of Minnesota, Ohio State University, Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Stanford University and Washington State University.

Interview with John Sedbrook
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