In August 2022 it was announced that Bayer had bought a majority stake (65%) in gene-edited cover crop startup CoverCress Inc. Previously dba Arvegenix LLC, in November 2018, the firm had changed its name to CoverCress Inc. A biotechnology company focused on renewable fuel and livestock feed, the firm was structured around producing an oilseed crop for food, bioenergy, and cattle feed. With a managemt team and staff drawn from the varying fields of agriculture, biotechnology, plants, genetics, cover crop, and precision agriculture, the firm's novel crop - called CoverCress - is a new winter oilseed cash crop that is also designed to provide winter and early spring soil cover between corn harvest and soybean planting. Yielding an oil and protein meal that is similar to that of canola, CoverCress is both a cash crop and also a soil-nourishing cover crop, a novel and compelling idea this team has turned into a reality and that has attracted significant investment.
