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Intermediate wheatgrass as a dual use crop for grain and grazing
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At The Land Institute, we don’t just develop perennial grain crops—we steward them. That means our work gets them onto the landscape—scaled, prepared, and consumed—and keeps them there.
Crop stewardship builds upon our breeding and ecology programs, creating scaffolding to set perennial grain crops up for success—from the field to the supply chain. We work to ensure our crops are valued for their full impact on ecosystems (soil health, water quality, climate change), economies (community building, stakeholder empowerment), and food systems.
To realize the environmental benefits offered by perennial grains, growers, grain processors, cooks, brewers, businesses, and eaters require support to bring perennial grains from research stations to landscapes and new food and drinks.
Increasing awareness of perennial grain crops and their role as both staple foods and an effective climate solution
Building broad support from market stakeholders, policymakers, and communities to advance the early stages of research and commercialization
Continue creating scientific, political, civic, legal, practical, and economic legitimacy for perennial grains.
Expanding perennial grain acreage to realize environmental, social, and economic benefits across a wide range of landscapes and communities
The Land Institute and Kernza supplier Sustain-A-Grain launched the first-ever “Kernza for Kansas” during Earth Month in April 2024 to demonstrate what perennial grains can bring to the table as a new staple food crop in the US Central Great Plains. In collaboration with 20 local businesses in 13 cities across Kansas, participants showcased Kernza’s unique flavor and uses in fan-favorite foods and beverages, from flatbreads to desserts to craft beers.
With Kansas, a major wheat-growing state, at the heart of the initiative in the backyard of our home campus in Salina, The Land Institute’s researchers, staff, and partners led and supported multiple events, including Kernza educational experiences, presentations, and community discussions. This initiative and others like it can serve as a model for further development of Kernza as a novel food in different regions of the US, with an increasing number of businesses to ultimately driving crop production on more farmland acres and raise questions around how to increase adoption by farmers and more businesses.
Collaborative initiatives like “Kernza for Kansas” that help advance the everyday use of a new perennial grain are now possible after decades of breeding progress accomplished through meticulous data collection and numerous rounds of breeding for the Central Great Plains region by a growing community of researchers. Furthermore, newly developed marketing materials, ingredient and application guidelines, and economic tools will enable businesses to utilize Kernza better and understand how to market products to an ever-growing community of eaters. These foundational activities are crucial in driving early market success for Kernza, increasing adoption and business profitability, and enabling further research of this new sustainable ingredient.
