Riverence, the leading trout-farmer in the United States, has committed to using Benson Hill soy ingredients in its Rangen aquaculture feed.
The companies “will collaborate to deliver traceable, less-processed, and deforestation-free ingredients for the aquaculture supply chain,” according to a press release from St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.-based food tech firm Benson Hill.
"Benson Hill has developed soy ingredients that are uniquely suited for aquaculture and check all the boxes from a nutrition, sustainability, and cost perspective," Riverence Chief Science Officer Jesse Trushenski said. "It's exciting to have a product designed for our market that supports improved performance of our fish, is traceable, and has a very clean carbon and water profile. We decided to incorporate Benson Hill's ingredients again this year and believe it's the beginning of a long and valuable partnership."
Benson Hill's proprietary soy-based ingredients will be incorporated into the aquaculture diets manufactured by Riverence's aquafeed supplier Rangen, a brand of Wilbur-Ellis Nutrition.
Benson Hill selects for soybeans with ultra-high protein and low anti-nutrient levels in order to reduce the need for processing to concentrate protein levels. The resulting products requires up to 70 percent less water and up to 50 percent lower CO2 emissions to produce than U.S.-sourced soy protein concentrate and uses up to 83 percent less water and up to 89 percent less CO2 when compared to soy protein concentrates from Brazil. At the same time, Benson Hill said its ingredients deliver equivalent performance to a soy protein concentrate-based diet in salmon and trout, as measured by feed-conversion ratio.
Additionally, Benson Hill works with farmers to grow its UHP soybean varieties with an emphasis on using regenerative agriculture practices under a policy that prohibits deforestation. It will work with Riverence “to develop a supply of traceable and deforestation-free certified Benson Hill ingredients to serve the Riverence supply chain,” the company said.
"Sustainable aquaculture systems will be an increasingly critical source of animal protein as the pressures of climate change intensify," Benson Hill CEO Matt Crisp said. "Riverence is a true sustainability leader for the industry with a keen focus on resource conservation that consumers value. Ingredient innovation provides a meaningful impact on feed quality, sustainability, and traceability. We're thrilled to work with the Riverence team to advance aquaculture together."
Photo courtesy of Benson Hill
