Beck’s, the largest family-owned retail seed company in the United States, today announced the acquisition of the Mid-State soybean processing facility in Marshall, Missouri, further expanding its commitment to farmers across the region.
The facility, located on approximately 12 acres, features state-of-the-art equipment and infrastructure designed to support efficient seed conditioning and distribution. The site is expected to process up to 1 million units annually and include more than 400,000 bushels of storage capacity. “Beck’s has a longstanding familiarity with this facility and its infrastructure having worked with Mid-State Seed to clean and package for us over the last several years”, said Jim Herr, processing/inventory/wholesale manager of Beck’s.
“Missouri will likely be our number one state in soybean growth over the 2025 and 2026 seasons,” said Scott Beck, president of Beck’s. “By investing in high-quality infrastructure and elevating our footprint in this region, we’re investing to support the significant demand for our products by farmers in Missouri, Iowa and west.”
The facility includes approximately 150,000 square feet of warehouse space and an additional 5,000 square feet of office space. Mid-State employees will have the opportunity to interview for roles with Beck’s at the facility as operations transition.
“We appreciate the contributions of the Mid-State team over the years and their role in supporting this operation. After careful evaluation, we determined that our relationships with contract seed processors deliver the best strategy for MFA to provide seed genetics that fit our customers’ needs,” said Jason Weirich, chief operating officer for MFA Incorporated. “Sale of the facility allows us to responsibly transition this operation while maintaining continuity for our customers.”
This announcement follows Beck’s continued growth efforts to expand service capabilities and provide farmers with high-quality seed, agronomic insights and practical solutions tailored to their needs.
Patents establish broad protection for core platform enabling BE-101 – a first-of-its-kind poultry biologic advancing toward USDA conditional licensure – and future pipeline products
GREENFIELD, IND. (April 21, 2026) – BiomEdit, an animal health biotechnology company, today announced the issuance of foundational patents covering its engineered probiotic delivery platform. These patents support and directly protect the company’s lead product, BE-101, a novel poultry biologic advancing toward potential conditional licensure by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Center for Veterinary Biologics (USDA CVB).
The newly issued patents, including “Genetically Modified Lactobacillus and Uses Thereof” (U.S. Patent 12,599,637) and “Probiotic Compositions Comprising Lactobacillus reuteri Strains and Methods of Use” (U.S. Patent 12,427,174), establish protection for engineered Lactobacillus reuteri strains, including composition of matter and methods of use, and systems used to deliver biologically active molecules directly within the host.
The patents cover:
Engineered Lactobacillus reuteri strains capable of expressing therapeutic biomolecules in situ
Delivery systems enabling localized and sustained payload expression
Expression of biologically active proteins, including novel antibodies targeting Clostridium perfringens, a significant pathogen in animal health
Applications across multiple species, spanning livestock, pets and human health
Together, these patents secure the core technology underlying BiomEdit’s probiotic vectored delivery platform and establish a foundation for the development of a new class of precision biologics delivered through well-characterized microbial strains.
The patent portfolio directly supports BiomEdit’s lead program, BE-101. The therapy is a first-of-its-kind probiotic vectored antibody (pvAb™) biologic designed to neutralize Clostridium perfringens toxins, a primary driver of necrotic enteritis (NE) in broiler chickens. By delivering targeted biomolecules directly within the gastrointestinal tract, BE-101 represents a novel, non-antibiotic approach to disease prevention and production improvement.
BE-101 is currently progressing through field studies and regulatory review. BiomEdit anticipates conditional licensure in Q3 2026, subject to standard regulatory review timelines, with commercial readiness aligned to Q4, 2026
Beyond BE-101, the platform enables a range of applications, including disease prevention, performance enhancement and therapeutic approaches across animal health, with potential extension into human health. BiomEdit’s approach integrates strain engineering, payload design and scalable oral delivery, positioning the company to advance microbiome-enabled biologics as alternatives to traditional therapeutics.
About BiomEdit
BiomEdit is an animal health biotechnology company leveraging the power of the microbiome and synthetic biology to develop next-generation solutions for livestock and pet health. Founded in 2022, BiomEdit is backed by leading investors including Anterra Capital, Viking Global, Nutreco, AgriZeroNZ, Elevate and Betagro Ventures among others. For more information, visit www.biomedit.com.
Mangrove Systems announced that it has acquired select operating assets from Grain Ecosystem, a digital biochar project development platform focused on the North American market.
As part of the acquisition, Mangrove is taking over Grain’s customer base of biochar operators, bringing them over to its compliance and monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) platform.
With this move, Mangrove is acting on its commitment and continued investment in the biochar carbon dioxide removal (CDR) sector.
This acquisition is also an important strategic action through which Mangrove will be operating a combined customer base that represents a significant share of the active global biochar market today.
Grain played a foundational role in building the North American biochar market. By gaining ownership of its portfolio of operators, Mangrove is strengthening its position as the compliance platform of choice for CDR operators at scale.
Founded in 2022, Grain Ecosystem is a technology platform designed to accelerate climate progress through waste-to-value infrastructure. The company specializes in supporting operators and developers with software and workflows for project development, CO2 compliance, and operations.
Mangrove Systems, on the other hand, provides digital MRV solutions for CDR and carbon capture & storage projects and low-carbon fuels.
Through the acquisition, Grain’s operator accounts will now join Mangrove’s existing biochar customer base, accessing the full spectrum of Mangrove’s platform capabilities.
These functionalities include automated data ingestion, AI-assisted carbon accounting, end-to-end audit-ready reporting, and expert certification support aligned with leading compliance and voluntary programs.
Ryan J. Letourneau, Co-Founder & CEO of Grain Ecosystem, stated, “Grain has built a strong platform and market presence in the biochar sector, and we believe Mangrove is well positioned to carry that work forward. This transaction provides continuity for customers and reflects a strong fit between what Grain built and Mangrove’s long-term platform.”
Annie Nichols, General Manager of Biochar at Mangrove Systems, added, “Biochar is one of the most promising and fastest-growing segments of the carbon removal market, and this acquisition deepens our commitment to it. We’re proud to welcome Grain’s operators onto our platform and to support them with the MRV infrastructure they need to scale their revenue and impact.”
Join Purdue University to discuss infrastructure and sustainability, specifically focused on agriculture and data centers.
Speakers:
Juan Sesmero
Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University
This presentation will examine agrivoltaics, with a focus on viable system configurations, scalability, and the potential for large-scale adoption to compete with conventional agriculture raising renewed food-versus-fuel tradeoffs across markets.
It will also present projections of increasing energy demand and associated land-use pressures for energy generation, highlighting how these dynamics may intensify cross-market impacts and reshape the balance between energy production and agricultural use.
Andrew Liu
Associate Professor of Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering at Purdue University and Director of Purdue Grid of Tomorrow Consortium
This presentation will explore the evolving two-way relationship between artificial intelligence and the energy sector. It will examines how the rapid growth of AI and data centers is driving increased electricity demand, with implications for grid operations, energy costs, and ratepayers.
It will also highlight the role AI can play in strengthening the energy system, improving efficiency, optimizing grid performance, and enhancing overall reliability, positioning AI as both a challenge and a solution within the future energy landscape.
Corteva Inc. (CTVA) on Tuesday named the executive leadership team that will run its planned seed and genetics spin-off, currently referred to as “SpinCo,” ahead of a targeted separation in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Chief Executive Chuck Magro is set to lead the new publicly traded company as chief executive following the split.
The announcement outlines a senior team that includes David Johnson as chief financial officer, Judd O’Connor as chief commercial and operations officer, and Sam Eathington as chief technology officer, along with Audrey Grimm as chief people officer, Brian Lutz as chief digital and information officer and Jennifer Johnson as chief legal officer.
The spin-off is expected to focus on seed and crop genetics, including areas such as gene editing and molecular breeding, while maintaining Corteva’s (CTVA) existing germplasm base.
The company plans to expand commercialization and licensing efforts and explore applications beyond traditional row crops.
The leadership team will formally assume their roles upon completion of the separation, and executives are scheduled to host an investor day at the New York Stock Exchange on September 15, with additional details, including the new company’s name and branding, to be announced.
Corteva Announces CEO of its Future Crop Protection Company
Luke Kissam, former Chairman, President and CEO of Albemarle, joins company on June 1
Corteva Inc. (NYSE: CTVA) announced today that its Board of Directors has named Luther (“Luke”) Kissam the chief executive officer of “New Corteva,” the future publicly-traded, differentiated crop protection company resulting from the current company’s planned separation in the fourth quarter of 2026.
New Corteva will be innovation-driven in both its product portfolio and its operating model, leveraging its technological leadership to deliver for farmers while also running an asset-light, efficient business. The company intends to make targeted investments to support growth and leverage its first-mover advantage in nature-inspired technologies to pursue opportunities promising attractive returns in markets that reward differentiation.
Luke will join Corteva on June 1 as CEO of its crop protection business, becoming CEO of the new, public company at separation, which is on track for the fourth quarter of 2026.
“Over the past several months, we have conducted a comprehensive search and assessment of many strong candidates, and we appointed Luke because it is clear that he is the right leader to continue to strengthen New Corteva’s position as a global market leader in the dynamic, competitive crop protection industry,” said Corteva Chair Greg Page. “Luke’s track record of propelling public companies towards sustained, innovation-led growth and integrated, market-focused solutions will serve farmers, customers and shareholders equally well.”
Luke brings to the role extensive experience in specialty chemicals as well as agriculture: he previously served as chairman, president and CEO of Albemarle Corporation, a global specialty chemicals leader, until his retirement from the company in June 2020. Luke joined Albemarle in 2003 as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary and served as senior vice president, manufacturing and law, and corporate secretary from 2008 until his promotion to president in 2010.
Prior to joining Albemarle, Luke served as vice president, general counsel and secretary of Merisant Company, having previously served as associate general counsel at Monsanto. His most recent role was senior advisor at Bernhard Capital Partners Management.
“New Corteva will have every ingredient it needs to continue its upward trajectory: a talented leadership team, knowledgeable, passionate employees and loyal customers who understand the difference innovation creates – on their fields and for their bottom line. I am excited to take the helm of a company poised for such transformational success,” said Kissam.
He continued, “I grew up in a farming community, and that’s where I feel most at home. I also value the critical role agriculture plays in our economy and our society. For all these reasons, it’s a pleasure to rejoin an industry delivering solutions to help farmers grow more food – and fuel – to power our growing world.”
Members of New Corteva executive leadership will be hosting an investor day on September 15 at the New York Stock Exchange; details on attendance and participation will be shared in the coming weeks.
Corteva Announces Executive Leadership Team of its Future Crop Protection Company
Corteva Inc. (NYSE: CTVA) announced today the executive leadership team that will lead “New Corteva,” the publicly-traded, differentiated crop protection company resulting from the current company’s planned separation in the fourth quarter of 2026. This follows an earlier announcement naming Luke Kissam, former Albemarle Chairman, President and CEO, as the New Corteva CEO. Luke will join the current company on June 1.
New Corteva will be innovation-driven in both its product portfolio and its operating model, leveraging its technological leadership to deliver for farmers while also running an asset-light, efficient business. The company intends to make targeted investments to support growth and leverage its first-mover advantage in nature-inspired technologies to pursue opportunities promising attractive returns in markets that reward differentiation.
“The business that will become Corteva after separation, later this year, will lead a critical industry from a position of strength,” said Corteva Chair Greg Page, who will also chair New Corteva after separation. “I look forward to working with each of these leaders to drive the new, focused company to even greater heights.”
“New Corteva’s success will be anchored in innovation and sustainability, coupled with a laser focus on enterprise-wide operational excellence, and this team is the right team to help realize its bright future,” said Corteva CEO Chuck Magro. “It is an exciting time for the company, its leaders and their future teams.”
The New Corteva executive leadership team will also assume their roles at separation, which is on track for the fourth quarter of 2026. As follows:
Jeff Rudolph will be the company’s chief financial officer.
Brook Cunningham will be chief commercial officer.
Ralph Ford will be chief integrated operations officer.
Reza Rasoulpour will be chief technology officer.
Jim Alcombright will be chief digital and information officer.
The roles of chief legal officer and chief people officer are open, with internal and external searches underway to fill them.
Robert King, current executive vice president of the Corteva Crop Protection business unit, will, effective July 1, become a strategic advisor to the incoming New Corteva CEO, ensuring a smooth transition through separation for the entire leadership team. Robert will remain on the current Corteva ELT until separation, and after separation, serve on the New Corteva ELT until the end of 2026, after which time he has elected to leave the company to pursue other leadership opportunities.
“I want to thank Robert for his invaluable leadership over the past few years, during which time we solidified our global leadership position in Biologicals, launched more than a thousand products to help farmers protect their yields and delivered financial performance that consistently outperformed the industry,” said Magro. “We wish him the very best in his next chapter.”
Members of New Corteva executive leadership will be hosting an investor day on September 15 at the New York Stock Exchange; details on attendance and participation will be shared in the coming weeks.
