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Intermediate wheatgrass as a dual use crop for grain and grazing
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Perennial grains hold the potential for truly regenerative agriculture in which humanity and nature flourish together as a collaborative system to grow abundant food, create economic growth for farmers, and heal the environment.
Our current farming system focuses on growing a single variety of short-lived annual crops in mass plantings known as monocultures. While the crops might change over time, plant diversity is drastically reduced on the landscape. This approach disrupts natural processes, increasing pests and soil erosion and decreasing water retention, soil fertility, and carbon storage. Farmers must use tillage, chemicals, and added nutrients to temporarily offset these disruptions. Overlooking natural systems and subverting their benefits puts both the environment and our food supply at risk.
Natural ecosystems, like forests and grasslands, are made up primarily of mixtures of perennial plants that regrow year after year in mutually beneficial supportive relationships. These systems are self-sustaining, relying on sunlight to function, effectively managing pests, soil health, erosion prevention, drought resilience, and carbon storage.
Perennial grains represent a fundamental shift, holding the potential for a truly regenerative agricultural system in which humanity and nature flourish together in collaboration. Focusing on perennial grain polycultures comprised of many long-lived crops grown in diverse mixtures, these systems will require less tillage, chemicals, and nutrient inputs, provide a habitat for the microorganisms critical to healthy soil, and are more adaptable to extreme weather and changing conditions.
Growing diverse, perennial crops—like grains, legumes, and oilseeds—that cover our farmlands year-round for many years without replanting will intrinsically build healthy soil, help clean and restore waterways, grow abundant food, and foster economic growth for farmers and their communities.
