Atlanta, Indiana, USA
June 1, 2021
Beck's, the largest family-owned retail seed company in the United States, is proud to expand their collaboration with Computomics, a biotechnology company in Tübingen, Germany. The partnership, centered around predictive analytics, aligns Beck's with top competitors when it comes to a modern breeding program.
"We are expanding our successful long-term partnership with Beck's, in which we apply our disruptive machine learning technology to bring new hybrids to market that have been optimized for specific climates. This provides Beck's a unique opportunity for growth," said Dr. Sebastian J. Schultheiss, managing director of Computomics.
Computomics has proven its success as the most effective biotechnology company focused on machine learning. What does this mean for farmers? With Beck's having one of the most extensive independent seed testing and breeding programs in the Corn Belt, the partnership with Computomics gives Beck's access to machine learning-derived evidence that helps breeders identify the future outcome of a product based on historical data. Beck's breeder predictions expanded from 30,000 to five million. That means more high-yielding, region-specific products delivered faster.
"Plant breeding is a numbers game. We aren't looking for needles in haystacks; we're building a database, predicting virtual hybrids, and then testing the top performers," said Dr. Tom Koch, Beck's breeding manager.
Beck's corn breeder, Dr. Keith Rufener, stated that in the past, Beck's relied heavily on in-field testing to determine the most promising hybrid. With Computomics technology, Beck's is building a solid database of performance by predicting all possible genetic combinations. Today, Beck's has 10 times more commercial candidates available and advanced more than 50 percent of those hybrids from year two to year three.
“We are pairing science with art,” said Jim Schwartz, Beck’s director of research, agronomy, and PFR. “It positions our program to take the next steps in advancing our breeding efforts.”
About Beck's
Beck's- Farmers At Heart® - revolutionized the customer seed buying experience by remaining true to a foundation built on faith, family, and farming. Founded in 1937, Beck's appreciates the farmers who have helped them become the largest family-owned retail seed company and the third largest seed brand in the United States. The Beck family is now in its fifth generation of family members who work in the business to honor God and help farmers succeed. The Beck family and team of employees help farmers achieve success from generation to generation through authentic customer experiences, product diversity, seed quality, and performance. With a home office located in Atlanta, Ind., Beck's serves farmers throughout the Midwest and Mid-South. For more information about Beck's, visit www.beckshybrids.com. Follow Beck's on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.
About Computomics
Computomics offers a proprietary machine learning technology platform that applies AI to genetics, phenotype, microbiome, and environmental datasets. Computomics is a team of world-leading experts in machine learning, plant research and bioinformatics, who use data to unlock the diversity of biological life.
In over 180 projects, Computomics enabled customers to make data-driven decisions and thereby accelerate sustainable agricultural development that can feed the world. Computomics' interpretable machine learning technology enables rapid understanding of genomic data for plant breeding, agricultural biotech, and microbiome researchers. Computomics is headquartered in Tübingen, Germany. To learn more about Computomics, please visit computomics.com or follow Computomics on Twitter at twitter.com/Computomics.
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