The board of directors for CoverCress Inc., a company aiming to commercialize the nation’s first “cash cover crop,” has named Mike DeCamp as its new president and CEO and a member of the board. DeCamp takes the helm after one year of serving as chief operating officer.

The funding was led by Bunge Ventures, the venture capital arm of US agribusiness firm Bunge. REG Ventures, a subsidiary of US biodiesel producer Renewable Energy Group (REG), also participated in the round. Read more in this article from AgFunder News.

CoverCress announces $8 million in partner funding for new low carbon oilseed.

At a time when farmers are urgently seeking ways to maximize profit in their corn-soybean rotations, university researchers in Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota and Wisconsin, along with a startup company in Missouri, are working to develop pennycress into a crop that could give farmers more dollars. The effort involves enhancing pennycress’ characteristics to make it a better oilseed for fuel, a more palatable feed for livestock and a viable cover crop that Midwest farmers can sandwich between corn harvest and soybean planting. Read more in this article from the Rock Island Dispatch-Argus.