Palindromes takes majority stake in Schillinger Genetics

New international holding company launched with interests in agriculture, including corn and soy genetics and pork.

Jacqui Fatka, Policy editor

May 17, 2018

3 Min Read
Palindromes takes majority stake in Schillinger Genetics
Karla Klingner, founder and CEO of Palindromes Inc., holds a launching event in NYC on Thursday, May 17.Palindromes

Palindromes Inc., a newly formed international holding company with interests in agriculture, trade and logistics, building materials and other basic commodities, announced its official launch at a press event in New York on Thursday. Chairwoman and chief executive officer Karla Klingner introduced the company’s management team and board of directors as well as its first portfolio acquisitions and other collaborative partners.

In conjunction with the company's launch, Klingner announced the signing of letters of intent for Palindromes’ first acquisitions. Palindromes will be taking a majority stake in Schillinger Genetics LLC, a company that specializes in agricultural seed genetics such as soybeans and non-genetically modified seeds, and a controlling stake in Hope Ventures, an integrated model for functional food and feed.

Schillinger Genetics

Schillinger Genetics Inc. is dedicated to helping farmers, feed and food companies so that consumers realize benefits and value from its novel products. Schillinger Seed said it plays a leading role in terms of high performance, elite non-biotech germplasm that works well in growers' fields and is also preferred by the end users of the grain.

John Schillinger will serve as chair of Palindromes’ Science & Innovation Advisory Board and will continue as president and CEO of Schillinger Genetics Inc. He said he has been aggressive in establishing genetics that offer healthier oils and enhancing protein levels. For instance, soybeans have been bred to have a 5% higher protein content that conventional beans and have enhanced value with added amino acids.

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Palindromes’ mission is to leverage the strengths of regional economies and elevate those strengths into the global marketplace. The company noted that its mission is to improve transparency among buyers and sellers, build strong, stable regional economies and revitalize rural economies.

“At present, the global commodities market appears to be in a period of great tumult and uncertainty,” Klingner said. “In reality, the global market is experiencing an overdue market correction that is ripe with opportunity, and Palindromes, in combination with its portfolio of partner companies, will leverage those new market opportunities to the benefit of both producers and consumers, consistent with our mission.”

Previously, Klingner served as president of GILS Management Group LLC, a company that matches capital from investors in foreign countries -- including China -- with business ventures in the U.S. through the EB-5 program to stimulate economic growth and create jobs for U.S. workers. Klingner has 15 years of experience in international finance, investing, immigration law and international politics through her work with GILS Management Group.

Hope Ventures

Russ Kremer will serve as chair of Palindromes’ Farmer Advisory Board and CEO of Hope Ventures LLC. Kremer got his start in the agriculture industry as a pig farmer in Missouri. Kremer helped usher in a movement in the U.S. of humanely raised hogs produced without antibiotics and genetically modified feeds. He is a founder and manager of Heritage Foods LLC, a vertically coordinated producer, processor, marketer and distributor of boutique natural and organic pork products. Kremer is a past president of the Missouri Pork Producers Assn. and the Missouri Farmers Union. He also is the founder and CEO of Moon Ridge Foods LLC, a highly differentiated processor and marketer of premium-quality pork.

Hope Ventures LLC aims to focus on community-based, functional foods and feeds (with special attention to protein) and a decentralization of the current food system.

Kremer said he strives to revitalize rural communities by making things happen for people with fewer resources and to verify the authenticity of family farmers and the sustainable standards they practice.

“I passionately believe this will result in a revitalization of rural communities around the world and a reversal of the ‘brain drain’ due to the out-migration of young people from rural communities. The ultimate goal is healthy consumers, healthy communities and healthy farm incomes,” Kremer said.

About the Author

Jacqui Fatka

Policy editor, Farm Futures

Jacqui Fatka grew up on a diversified livestock and grain farm in southwest Iowa and graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications, with a minor in agriculture education, in 2003. She’s been writing for agricultural audiences ever since. In college, she interned with Wallaces Farmer and cultivated her love of ag policy during an internship with the Iowa Pork Producers Association, working in Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Capitol Hill press office. In 2003, she started full time for Farm Progress companies’ state and regional publications as the e-content editor, and became Farm Futures’ policy editor in 2004. A few years later, she began covering grain and biofuels markets for the weekly newspaper Feedstuffs. As the current policy editor for Farm Progress, she covers the ongoing developments in ag policy, trade, regulations and court rulings. Fatka also serves as the interim executive secretary-treasurer for the North American Agricultural Journalists. She lives on a small acreage in central Ohio with her husband and three children.

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