Missouri Patent of the Month – June 2023
Pennycress, also known as fanweed or stinkweed, is a winter cover crop that offers numerous benefits to agriculture and the environment. It helps protect soil from erosion, prevents the loss of farm-field nitrogen into water systems, and improves soil productivity. Recently, there has been growing interest in using pennycress as a novel cover crop that also serves as a valuable source of oil for biofuel production. Researchers have been working on optimizing pennycress seeds to provide additional sources of nutrition to animals.
CoverCress, Inc. (CCI), an agtech company, has made significant progress in developing improved pennycress seeds. The company works to develop climate-smart agricultural products that contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Through this mission, the company has worked to convert field pennycress into a more useful crop via advanced breeding and gene editing tools.
A recent patent covers their work identifying specific genetic mutations in the pennycress genes that result in desirable traits. One of the key discoveries is the development of pennycress seed meal with a reduced level of non-digestible fiber, making it a more competitive animal feed ingredient. This defatted seed meal has an acid detergent fiber (ADF) content ranging from 7% to 25% by dry weight, and it contains a detectable amount of polynucleotides with loss-of-function mutations in the pennycress genes.
Another variation is the non-defatted pennycress seed meal, which has an ADF content of 5% to 20% by dry weight. It also contains the same loss-of-function mutations in the pennycress genes. Both defatted and non-defatted seed meals exhibit a lighter color compared to traditional seed meals obtained from wild-type pennycress seeds.
These compositions offer new opportunities for sustainable optimization of agricultural systems. With the widespread availability of idle land, farmers can consider growing pennycress after a corn crop and before the next soybean crop. This approach helps prevent soil erosion, improves soil nitrogen and pest management, and provides an additional income source through the sale of pennycress oil and meal.
Methods for making defatted and non-defatted seed meals, as well as pennycress seed cakes, are provided. These methods involve processes such as grinding, macerating, extruding, and crushing the seed lots to obtain the desired compositions. Additionally, seed lots comprising populations of pennycress seeds with specific ADF content and genetic mutations are available.
The development of these improved pennycress seeds has been supported by federal funding from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA. CoverCress’ research highlights the potential of pennycress as a sustainable and valuable crop for farmers, with benefits for both the agricultural industry and the environment.
Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.
Who We Are:
Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.
Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.
Are you eligible?
Why choose us?
Pass an Audit?
What is the R&D Tax Credit?
The Research & Experimentation Tax Credit (or R&D Tax Credit), is a general business tax credit under Internal Revenue Code section 41 for companies that incur research and development (R&D) costs in the United States. The credits are a tax incentive for performing qualified research in the United States, resulting in a credit to a tax return. For the first three years of R&D claims, 6% of the total qualified research expenses (QRE) form the gross credit. In the 4th year of claims and beyond, a base amount is calculated, and an adjusted expense line is multiplied times 14%. Click here to learn more.
Never miss a deadline again
Stay up to date on IRS processes
Discover R&D in your industry
R&D Tax Credit Preparation Services
Swanson Reed is one of the only companies in the United States to exclusively focus on R&D tax credit preparation. Swanson Reed provides state and federal R&D tax credit preparation and audit services to all 50 states.
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call or email our CEO, Damian Smyth on (800) 986-4725.
Feel free to book a quick teleconference with one of our national R&D tax credit specialists at a time that is convenient for you.
R&D Tax Credit Audit Advisory Services
creditARMOR is a sophisticated R&D tax credit insurance and AI-driven risk management platform. It mitigates audit exposure by covering defense expenses, including CPA, tax attorney, and specialist consultant fees—delivering robust, compliant support for R&D credit claims. Click here for more information about R&D tax credit management and implementation.
Our Fees
Swanson Reed offers R&D tax credit preparation and audit services at our hourly rates of between $195 – $395 per hour. We are also able offer fixed fees and success fees in special circumstances. Learn more at https://www.swansonreed.com/about-us/research-tax-credit-consulting/our-fees/
Choose your state
