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Intermediate wheatgrass as a dual use crop for grain and grazing
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Perennial crops—like grains, legumes and oilseeds—represent a fundamental shift in modern agriculture, holding the potential for a truly regenerative future.
Our modern agricultural system relies on annual grain crops. These are commonly planted every year and maintained by tillage, leaving the soil exposed to erosion and releasing greenhouse gases. At The Land Institute we collaborate with farmers, scientists, and with the plants themselves to develop perennial grain crops. These require less fossil fuel and tillage, are more adaptable to varied conditions, and provide a habitat for the microorganisms critical to healthy soil.
Perennial crops have deep root systems that anchor the soil year-round, significantly reducing erosion and preserving topsoil fertility.
These crops provide continuous habitats for various species, supporting robust pollinator communities and increasing overall farm biodiversity.
With their extensive root systems, perennials improve water infiltration and retention, reducing runoff and enhancing drought resistance.
Perennial plants capture and store carbon dioxide in their biomass and root systems, contributing to climate change mitigation.
Due to their longevity and resilience, perennials often require fewer chemical inputs like fertilizers and pesticides, leading to more sustainable farming practices.
Perennial crops can provide consistent yields over multiple years, reducing the need for annual replanting and offering farmers more stable income streams.
Perennial grains are new hardware for agriculture that can transform how we farm by changing what we grow. These long-lived alternatives to major grains, including cereals, legumes, and oilseeds, will allow farmers to plant once and harvest a crop for many years without replanting, delivering robust ecological, economic, and social benefits over time.
The Global Inventory Project is a collaborative effort between The Land Institute, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and Saint Louis University. Its mission is to catalog and evaluate wild, herbaceous perennial species—particularly grains (Poaceae), legumes (Fabaceae), and oilseeds (Asteraceae)—that hold promise for domestication and integration into perennial crop polycultures in both temperate and tropical climates.
