CCI has converted field pennycress through advanced breeding and gene editing tools to create its climate-smart agricultural product marketed under the trade name of CoverCress®. This renewable oilseed and animal feed crop has a winter annual growth cycle, allowing it to fit into an existing corn and soybean rotation. It is planted in the fall, vernalizes over the winter, flowers, sets seed in the spring, and is harvested just ahead of spring crop planting.
The CoverCress crop sequesters carbon and prevents further organic soil carbon loss through cover-cropping. Additionally, it delivers the ecosystem benefits of a traditional cover crop by mitigating soil erosion, improving soil health, and reducing water and nutrient movement.
Planting
This transformation from field pennycress into a novel rotational cash oilseed crop, occurred over 9+ years of breeding, selection, gene editing, and field trials. The result is an entirely new to market rotational cash crop with improved crop stand, yield, oil content, and quality, among many other beneficial attributes.
Containing 30% oil and a protein composition like canola, CoverCress grain has a unique feature that sets it apart: an ultra-low carbon intensity score. CoverCress oil is a crucial feedstock source for increasing the production of renewable fuels like renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel.
