Matthew Crisp, president and CEO of Benson Hill Biosystems, [says] the rural zones of Midwestern America are proving fertile ground for a unique blend of science and technology.
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Crisp said emerging companies look for three things when choosing a location: Infrastructure, talent, and money.
“St. Louis was really the only place that offered up those things for BensonHill,” he said….
The Midwest affords researchers in the field of plant genetics the opportunity to work in both “dry-wear” and “wet-wear,” he said, explaining the former involves the computer programing systems while the latter is the actual seed-work in greenhouses and fields. The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center’s 50,000-square feet of greenhouse space is a big plus, as well as the giant swaths of farmland throughout the region. “We’re in 13 different field sites for corn in the Midwest.”
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Top universities with strong agriculture programs also dot the landscape, from Washington University in St. Louis to the University of Illinois-Champaign and University of Missouri at Columbia.
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And venture capital funds are streaming in from both coasts, as well as from within the deep wellspring of wealth located in the Midwest itself.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Is the Midwest a tech hub? In the ag sector, definitely!
