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Intermediate wheatgrass as a dual use crop for grain and grazing
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Deep-rooted perennial grain crops can combine conservation with food production and economic resilience. With greater adaptability to a changing climate, perennial grains can be a powerful tool for growing food while considering natural resource availability, the cost of farming inputs, and the need to conserve soil to ensure food security for future generations.
Perennial grains like Kernza® can also diversify farmer revenue streams by offering a grain crop for food and a forage crop for animals all in one. These advantages can equip farmers to plant perennial grains, with the added benefits of restoring waterways, building healthy soil, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
Fields planted with diverse perennial grain crops can reduce fertilizer runoff into waterways, support biodiversity above and below ground, increase carbon storage in soils, and efficiently access water and nutrients from deep in the ground.
Farmers harvested more than one product (grain, straw, hay, or grazing) from half of all US Kernza acres in 2024.
Farmers spent almost 50% less on seed, fertilizer, and other inputs for perennial rice than annual rice.
Perennial rice farmers used nearly 60% less labor compared to annual rice.
In 2024, a quarter of US Kernza growers possessed four-year-old stands, and in China, perennial rice produced grain for eight consecutive harvests over four years from a single planting.
