Anheuser-Busch Teams Up with Missouri Firm to Improve Barley

The maker of Budweiser is partnering with a Missouri agricultural technology firm to develop barley varieties that use less water and other natural resources.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Anheuser-Busch InBev and Benson Hill Biosystems announced their global partnership on Monday.

The St. Louis-based crop improvement company will use its breeding technology to develop barley varieties that are more productive and sustainable. Benson Hill has a crop-design platform that combines genome editing and trait targeting.

Gary Hanning is Anheuser-Busch InBev’s global director of barley research. Hanning said in a statement that Benson Hill’s crop technology puts the Belgium-based beer company at the forefront of innovation.

He says the project will “develop more resilient and sustainable varieties of barley for growers and the best quality malt for our brewers.”