Led by Western Illinois University and funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA), the Integrated Pennycress Research Enabling Farm and Energy Resilience (IPREFER) project is a team of academic researchers, agricultural producers and the commercial interests working to optimize off-season pennycress oilseed production.

The project goal is to move pennycress towards a launch as a cash cover crop by 2021, with a goal of yielding up to an additional 2 billion gallons of oil annually towards the 25 year goal of 50 billion gallons set by USDA-NIFA in 2018.

IPREFER focuses on optimizing agronomic protocols, breeding line development, assessment of environmental impacts, supply chain requirements, and community outreach.

IPREFER is led by Project Director Win Phippen of Western Illinois University. Project partners include: public universities: Western Illinois University, Illinois State University, University of Minnesota, Ohio State University, and University of Wisconsin-Platteville; government agencies: USDA-ARS-NCSCRL, private industry (CoverCress, Inc.) and interested stakeholders who are poised to deliver the following and more:

• Improved pennycress breeding and genetics
• Improved pennycress agronomic management
• Supply chain establishment and reduction of supply chain bottlenecks
• Education and extension networks that will enhance pennycress adoption as a cash cover crop.

As a winter cover crop, pennycress will impact many of the top news stories covering rural economics, natural resource management, biofuel technology, energy security and the development of a more resilient and more Midwestern farm economy. Pennycress can:

• Positively impact the profitability of production agriculture,
• Decrease soil erosion and nutrient runoff thereby protecting water systems,
• Support pollinator health and biodiversity,
• Suppress spring weeds,
• Increase energy security by diversifying the nation’s energy portfolio
• Contribute to the economic health of rural communities.

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For additional information or to learn more about IPREFER contact: Anne Kinzel, IPREFER Project Manager – anne.kinzel@iprefercap.org

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Access our latest Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and get the latest from our research and outreach team (Updated Jan. 2023).

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Integrated Pennycress Research Enabling Farm & Energy Resilience. 2019-2024. www.iprefercap.org. [date accessed]

Photos and images from this website may be used for non-commercial and educational purposes. When using photos from this website, please use the following credit: IPREFER (USDA-NIFA CAP Grant No. 2019-69012-29851 (www.iprefercap.org).

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IPREFER is primarily supported by an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. ­­­2019-69012-29851 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. IPREFER is part of NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s (AFRI) Sustainable Agricultural Systems program.

• Duration: 5-year grant
• 5-year funding amount: $10 million
• Start date: August 2019

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Win Phippen, Ph.D., is the IPREFER Project Director. Dr. Phippen is a Plant Breeding and Genetics professor at the School of Agriculture at Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL. He received his master’s degree from Cornell University in plant breeding and his doctorate from Purdue University. His research for the last 20 years has focused on agronomic and breeding improvement of alternative and new crops such as milkweed, cuphea, hemp, and, most recently, pennycress. Dr. Phippen’s IPREFER research activities focus on pennycress breeding and variety development. wb-phippen@wiu.edu / (309) 298-125

Rebekka Darner, Ph.D. (ON SABBATICAL starting 5/16/33) is a professor at Illinois State University and the Director of Illinois State University’s Center for Mathematics, Science, & Technology. Dr. Darner’s focus is as a science education researcher whose research focuses on improving the scientific literacy of nonscientist members of the public, particularly pre-service teachers. Dr. Darner is a leader in IPREFER’s Outreach and Extension Objective. rldarne@ilstu.edu

Matthew Hagaman, M.S., M.A. is a STEM education specialist at Illinois State University’s Center for Mathematics, Science, & Technology and a leader in IPREFER’s Education & Outreach objective. He is the primary author and editor for IPREFER’s 4-H Cover Crop Science Project Book. Outside of IPREFER, he develops other innovative hands-on curricula for students in grades K-16. He provides mentorship for students and faculty who are working to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in undergraduate STEM programs. Mr. Haganan is serving as the Outreach and Extension Objective leader the the absence of Rebekka Darner. mthagam@ilstu.edu.

Matt Luetje joined CoverCress Inc. as Chief Operating Officer at the end of 2021. He brings over 30 years of commercial leadership experience from both the pharmaceutical and agribusiness sectors, where he’s earned a reputation for building strong partnerships and creating initiatives that expand stakeholder value.

Yesuf Mohammed, Ph.D., leads IPREFER’s work in the agronomic development of pennycress. Additionally, Dr. is a Research Agronomist (USDA-ARS) and a Post-Doctoral Associate in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, MN. yesuf.mohammed@usda.gov.

William (Bill) Perry, Ph.D., is a Professor of Aquatic Ecology at Illinois State University. Dr. Perry’s research interests focus on the chemistry and biology of freshwaters. Dr. Perry leads IPREFER’s work in the area of pennycress ecosystem services. wlperry@ilstu.edu.

John Sedbrook, Ph.D., is a professor of Genetics at Illinois State University (Normal, IL). Dr. Sedbrook leads IPREFER’s southern region breeding and genetics research program and provides genetics and molecular biology expertise to genetically improve pennycress germplasm through CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing and marker-assisted breeding. He also contributes to 4-H and farmer outreach and education efforts. Dr. Sedbrook is also the Project Director of IPREP (DOE-BER Integrated Pennycress Resilience Project) jcsedbr@ilstu.edu.

Julia Zhang, Ph.D., is IPREFER’s Northern pennycress breeding lead. Before joining the UOM, Dr. Zhang was a successful commercial corn breeder and geneticist with a deep understanding of the complexity and dynamics of modern plant breeding, germplasm improvement, and product placement. Her areas of expertise include 1) field breeding, germplasm improvement, and phenotyping strategies; 2) molecular breeding and application of high through phenotyping to breeding; and 3) plant pathology and host-pathogen interactions. zhan0521@umn.edu

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The IPREFER Advisory Board provides guidance and suggestions to our PI’s for improving program effectiveness and impact with producers and end users. Board members are strong advocates for the project and provide critical and astute observations.

Steve Csonka is the Executive Director of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) where he leads this public/private consortium working toward the development, introduction and wide-spread commercialization of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) for the entire aviation enterprise. With over 27 years of broad airline and aviation OEM experience prior to taking the helm of CAAFI in 2012, Csonka is a strong industry advocate who seeks pragmatic solutions to the challenges of aviation growth – resulting in his current focus on SAF as the leading technology to allow for the near-term decoupling of carbon growth from operational growth.

Mike DeCamp Mike DeCamp serves as Chief Executive Officer of CoverCress, Inc. He joined the company as Chief Operating Officer in 2020. Mike has over 30 years of diversified experience in agribusiness, corporate finance, law, corporate strategy, and M&A. Mr. DeCamp began his career as a CPA with Ernst & Young; practiced corporate and securities law with Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale in St. Louis; worked for Monsanto Company in legal, strategy and operational executive roles; founded an agricultural focused strategic advisory and transaction services firm; and lead the corporate finance, capital management, M&A and strategy functions as CFO and CIO for a production agriculture focused private equity firm in Indianapolis. Mr. DeCamp earned his law degree from the University of Missouri – Columbia, and a BA in business administration from the University of Missouri – St. Louis.

Neville Fernandes Neville Fernandes has more than 30 years of experience in the renewable fuels, petroleum and chemical industries in a variety of roles including business development, sales, marketing, EHS and process engineering. He currently serves as Vice President, ChevronRenewable Energy Group. Mr. Fernandes is a co-founder and past Chairman of the Advanced Biofuels Association based in Washington, D.C. Mr. Fernandes holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University as well as an MBA in Marketing from the Schulich School of Business in Canada. He is also a licensed engineer with Professional Engineers Ontario.

Lauren Lurkins serves as the Illinois Farm Bureau’s Director of Environmental Policy in the Governmental Affairs and Commodities Division a position she has since May 2013. Lurkins is responsible for advocating on behalf of the IFB in the promulgation, implementation and enforcement of environmental regulation impacting Illinois agriculture. Ms. Lurkins has experience in in all areas of environmental law, including both enforcement defense and legislative/regulatory activity. Ms. Lurkins holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Saint Louis University and a law degree from Southern Illinois University School of Law, with a focus on environmental law.

Alan Weber is a founding partner of MARC-IV, a consulting company that fosters the development of biobased innovations that benefit agricultural and enhance our environment. Active with biodiesel commercialization since 1991, Weber assisted with the establishment of the National Biodiesel Board’s (NBB) Washington, DC office (2006-07) and continues to provide economic and technical support to their efforts. He was appointed by the U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy to serve on the Biomass Research & Development Initiative Technical Advisory Committee in 2012. Mr. Weber also operates and manages his family’s farm in central Missouri.

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The IPREFER website is https://www.iprefercap.org. IPREFER has a Twitter account – @IPREFER_CAP

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Please attribute credit to IPREFER when using any of these images.

These images are available under Creative Commons license BY-NC-ND. This license allows others to download our work and share them with others as long as the work acknowledges IPREFER, and the appropriate project member where applicable. The work cannot be changed or used commercially.

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IPREFER – Project Kickoff Western Illinois University Press Release

News release provides quotes from notable project participants and policy makers regarding USDA’s support for IPREFER.

USDA NIFA News Release

News release for U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) 2019 grants. IPREFER is one of the eight grantees for 2019.

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You can also access IPREFER  academic publications, presentations, videos or older news articles.

• Williams, Logan. Pennycress crop research continues at Western Illinois University. WEGM TV. Mar. 6, 2023. (Article and video)
• Williams, Logan. WIU research pennycress planted. WEGM TV, Nov. 7, 2022. (Article and video)
• Shipman, Kay. CoverCress making debut in Illinois fields this fall. FarmWeekNow, Oct. 13, 2022.
• Pospeschil, Jodi. Research pennycress planted at Western Illinois University Farm this month. WIU News Service. Oct. 27, 2022

Patents

• Marks, Michael David & Ratan Chopra. Plants having increased oil quality. US Patent 11,408,008 B2, filed March 26, 2020, and issued August 9, 2022. https://patents.justia.com/patent/11408008#history.
• Michael David Marks, John C. Sedbrook, Donald L. Wyse & Kevin Dorn. Plants having increased oil quality. US Patent 11,396,657 B2, filed January 26, 2018, and issued July 26, 2022. https://patents.justia.com/patent/11396657
• Marks, Michael David & Kevin Dorn. Early flowering plants. US Patent 11,337,391 B2, filed August 17, 2018, and issued May 24, 2022. https://patents.justia.com/patent/11337391
• Ulmasov, Tim, Gary Hartnell, John C. Sedbrook, Michael David Marks, Ratan Chopra & Maliheh Esfahanian. Low Fiber Pennycress Meal and Methods of Making. US Patent 11,224,237 B2, filed June 5, 2020, and issued January 18, 2022. https://patents.justia.com/patent/11224237#history
• Ulmasov, Tim, John C. Sedbrook, Michael David Marks, Michaela G. McGinn, Cristine Handel, Ratan Chopra & Brice Allen Jarvis. Low Glucosinolate Pennycress Meal and Methods of Making. US Patent 0084936 A1, filed January 18, 2019, and issued March 25, 2021. https://patents.justia.com/search?q=Low+Glucosinolate+Pennycress+Meal+and+Methods+of+Making

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These reports provide updates of IPREFER’s work and contain information from all the project’s objectives (Breeding and Genetics, Agronomy/ Crop Management, Ecosystems Services, Supply Chain, Outreach and Extension, Education). Our reports are available here.

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