With a goal as bold as “changing the way the world grows its food,” we know that partners are critical to success. The Land Institute’s research partners provide insight, data, operations support, connectivity, and an expanded community of brainpower and technical capacity.
Our research partners and collaborators are helping to fully develop Natural Systems Agriculture. In many ways, plant breeding is a numbers game – the more experimental lines evaluated, the better our odds of developing superior, high-yielding perennial crop varieties.
Although The Land Institute is headquartered in Salina, Kansas, our global partnerships spread our researchers’ knowledge and botanical germplasm across six continents with diverse climates and soil types. With our partners, we are dedicated to ensuring worldwide food security without compromising ecosystems integrity through locally adapted, perennial agriculture systems.
Below is a list and description of research groups with which we exchange data or plant material, directly collaborate, and/or provide funding.
Partner Institutions

Agricultural Research Council, South Africa
1134 Park St, Pretoria, 0028, South Africa
Show DescriptionWe are co-investigators with researchers at these institutions, along with the lead investigator, Andrew Paterson at the University of Georgia, in a five-year USAID-funded project (starting in 2013) to use Sorghum halepense for the improvement of grain/forage sorghum in Africa, including improvement of ratooning and perenniality.

CIMMYT Turkey Wheat Program, Turkey
Yenimahalle/Ankara, Turkey
Show DescriptionWe collaborate with Dr. Alexey Morgunov, the CIMMYT program director, who is testing perennial wheat for productivity and longevity in Turkey’s local ecosystem.

Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14850
Show DescriptionDr. Matthew Ryan leads research regarding the agroecology of The Land Institute’s Kernza® perennial grain in New York state. His research also involves collaboration with farmers, millers, bakers, and other end-users of the grain.

Council for Research and Experimentation in Agriculture, Italy
Rome, Italy
Show DescriptionDr. Laura Gazza and colleagues are working in communication with The Land Institute on quality traits such as protein, gluten intolerance, and micronutrition of perennial wheat.

ICRISAT
BP 320 Bamako, Mali
Show DescriptionWe are co-investigators with researchers at these institutions, along with the lead investigator, Andrew Paterson at the University of Georgia, in a five-year USAID-funded project (starting in 2013) to use Sorghum halepense for the improvement of grain/forage sorghum in Africa, including improvement of ratooning and perenniality.

ICRISAT
CG Centers Block NASC Complex Dev Prakash Shastri Marg New Delhi 110012, India
Show DescriptionWe are co-investigators with researchers at these institutions, along with the lead investigator, Andrew Paterson at the University of Georgia, in a five-year USAID-funded project (starting in 2013) to use Sorghum halepense for the improvement of grain/forage sorghum in Africa, including improvement of ratooning and perenniality.

Jimma University, Ethiopia
Jimma 378, Ethiopia
Show DescriptionWe are co-investigators with researchers at these institutions, along with the lead investigator, Andrew Paterson at the University of Georgia, in a five-year USAID-funded project (starting in 2013) to use Sorghum halepense for the improvement of grain/forage sorghum in Africa, including improvement of ratooning and perenniality.

Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506
Show DescriptionDr. Jesse Poland currently hosts two post-doctoral fellows in his laboratory to study intermediate wheatgrass genetics and genomics. He also supports high-throughput, automated, geo-referenced data collection methods for perennial grain breeding. Both positions are funded by the Perennial Agriculture Project in conjunction with the Malone Family Land Preservation Foundation and The Land Institute.

Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, Canada
5403 1 Ave S, Lethbridge, AB T1J 4P4, Canada
Show DescriptionDr. Jamie Larsen is breeding perennial cereal rye and wheat. He is also working on the molecular genetics of perenniality, disease resistance, cold tolerance and agronomy in wheatgrass and perennial wheat. We exchange data and germplasm with Dr. Larsen’s lab.

Lund University, Sweden
Lund, Sweden
Show DescriptionProfessor Lennart Olsson, founder of the Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS), and Dr. Wim Carton actively promote social and natural science research on Natural Systems Agriculture with perennial grains in Sweden and Sub-Saharan Africa. They partner with The Land Institute on numerous research proposals in Europe and in East Africa.

Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
Kampala, Central Region, Uganda
Show DescriptionThis group of collaborators is field testing The Land Institute’s perennial sorghum in the tropics, with the intention of initiating a breeding program to develop perennial sorghum adapted to East African conditions.

Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Germany
Carl-von-Linne-Weg 10, 50829 Köln, Germany
Show DescriptionWe collaborate with Dr. Maria von Korff and one of her post-doctoral fellows, who are conducting whole-genome gene expression analyses in order to find the essential genes that influence the longevity of perennial wheat. This institute is highly recognized for the study of perenniality in model plant species and is seeking to transfer knowledge and technologies into staple crops.

Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI, United States
Show Description
Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio (MEF), Trelew, Argentina
Trelew, Argentina
Show DescriptionPlant Physiologists Drs. Alejandra Vilela and Damian Ravetta are studying the ecophysiological changes in silphium during the process of selecting for increased yield at The Land Institute. They travel to Kansas to work directly with Dr. David Van Tassel, who has also spent time developing experiments in Argentina. This work is funded in part by The Land Institute.

Namik Kemal University, Turkey
Merkez/Tekirdağ, Turkey
Show DescriptionDr. Metin Tuna and his colleagues are evaluating perennial wheat lines for productivity and longevity. His group is interested in the cytogenetic characterization of wheatgrasses and wheat/ wheatgrass hybrids. Their research will provide important context for The Land Institute’s perennial wheat breeding program

New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Australia
New South Wales, Australia
Show DescriptionRichard Hayes, Matt Newell, and colleagues are working to breed perennial wheat hybrids, as well as trial legume-wheat and wheatgrass intercrops. We exchange data and germplasm with the department.

Northwest A & F University, China
3 Taicheng Rd, 杨凌区 Xianyang, Shaanxi, China, 712100
Show DescriptionProf. Zhonghua Wang’s group is testing perennial wheat for productivity in the Loess Plateau, a region with some of the most severe soil erosion in the world. His group is also studying the impact of wheat vernalization genes on perenniality. This work is funded by The Land Institute

Ohio State University
Columbus, OH
Show DescriptionDr. Steve Culman coordinates a multi-regional study on how simulated grazing at different seasons though biomass clipping influence intermediate wheatgrass grain production and total biomass productivity. Other participating institutions include The Land Institute, Colorado State, Cornell, USDA-ARS-Beltsville, University of Manitoba, Iowa State, Michigan State, University of Wisconsin, and University of Minnesota. Dr. Culman’s work is funded in part by The Land Institute.

Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK 74074
Show DescriptionProf. Liuling Yan and his post-doctoral fellow are investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying regrowth habit in perennial wheat. Nearly all the current perennial wheat lines show spring-type regrowth, which renders plants less perennial under stressful conditions. This work is funded by the Perennial Agriculture Project in conjunction with the Malone Family Land Preservation Foundation and The Land Institute.

Perennial Agriculture Project Field Station
984 N 1800 Rd, Lawrence, KS 66049, United States
Show DescriptionThe Perennial Agriculture Project Field Station came to life in 2016. Located on the historic Gorrill Farmstead in Lawrence, Kansas, it is home to a significant expansion of ecological intensification research underwritten by the Perennial Agriculture Project, which is a project of the Malone Family Land Preservation Foundation and The Land Institute. Ecological intensification focuses on identifying and incorporating ecological processes that can take the place of inputs like fertilizers or pesticides. KU ecology faculty members Jim Bever and Peggy Schultz live on-site and serve as research coordinators. Laura Kemp, former Land Institute ecology technician in Salina has taken on the new role of Field Station manager. The Gorrill Farm Research Station is being used by three post-doc research fellows from the University of Kansas, conducting experiments at this site. A fully-equipped field station laboratory is planned for 2017. Laura Kemp can be reached at gro.e1524447055tutit1524447055snidn1524447055al@pm1524447055ek1524447055.

Perennial Grains Research Program on Perennial Cereals
ISARA-Lyon, 23 rue Jean Baldassini, 69007 Lyon, France
Show DescriptionThe project aims at testing the value of Kernza® intermediate wheatgrass and few other perennial grains as multipurpose crops.
Over 10 field experiments were implemented during September 2017.
All sites are experimenting Kernza® as sole crop and intercropped with white clover in comparison to annual wheat. Some fields also include alfalfa intercropping treatment.
Dr. Florian Celette and Dr Christophe David (Executive Dean) of ISARA, Olivier Duchene (PhD student at ISARA), and Prof. Matthew Ryan from Cornell University.
For more information on the project, see https://www.researchgate.net/project/Grow-perennial-crops-for-grain-and-forage-production-while-providing-ecosystems-services, or contact Olivier Duchene at rf.ar1524447055asi@e1524447055nehcu1524447055dlo1524447055.

Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center, USDA-ARS
Fargo, ND, United States
Show DescriptionResearch Geneticist Dr. Brent Hulke and Research Entomologist Jarrad Prasifka are performing field and greenhouse research to investigate the insect pests, pollination biology, and basis of heterosis in silphium. We exchange data and germplasm with Dr. Hulke’s lab.

Saint Louis University and Missouri Botanical Garden
St. Louis, MO
Show DescriptionIn collaboration with The Land Institute and the Missouri Botanical Garden, Dr. Allison Miller oversees the Global Inventory Project. Using databases supported by botanical gardens worldwide, Dr. Miller’s group is identifying wild herbaceous perennial species in the legume, grass, and sunflower families that may be of interest for new perennial crop domestication breeding programs. This work is funded in part by the Perennial Agriculture Project in conjunction with the Malone Family Land Preservation Foundation and The Land Institute.

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) Alnarp Campus
SLU, Box 52, SE-230 53 Alnarp
Show DescriptionSweden’s SITES program (Swedish Infrastructure for Ecosystem Science) maintains nine research stations dedicated to long-term ecological research. Dr. Erik Steen Jensen, Professor of Biosystems and Technology, is the principal investigator for the SITES Agroecological Field Experiment. This experiment consists of four replicated cropping systems, including Land Institute perennial intermediate wheat grass (which produces Kernza® grain) grown alone and intercropped with alfalfa.

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala Campus
Uppsala, Sweden
Show DescriptionDr. Anna Westerbergh is a plant breeder who is working to perennialize barley by crossing annual barley with wild barley relatives (e.g., Hordeum bulbosum). Anna is also evaluating perennial wheat and intermediate wheatgrass germplasm from The Land Institute for high latitude (~60°) breeding.

Texas A&M
College Station, TX
Show Description
Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay
Montevideo, Uruguay
Show DescriptionDr. Pablo Speranza, who studies the population genetics of domestication in perennial forages, is evaluating the ability of silphium to survive and flower in Uruguay. Valentin Picasso (see Univeristy of Wisconsin, Madison below) is also a member of the Agronomy Faculty.

University of Colorado, Boulder
Boulder, CO, United States
Show DescriptionDr. Nolan Kane will be directing a graduate or post-doctoral student to begin characterizing the genome of silphium. This program will be funded by the Perennial Agriculture Project in conjunction with the Malone Family Land Preservation Foundation and The Land Institute.

University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen, Denmark
Show DescriptionDr. Kristian Thorup-Kristensen oversees the DeepFrontier root ecology research project, in which deep-rooted agricultural species are studied in aboveground root towers and with belowground mini-rhizotrons. Intermediate wheatgrass and silphium from The Land Institute are among the species being evaluated.

University of Georgia
Athens, GA
Show DescriptionSince 2009, we have worked with Dr. Andrew Paterson, head of the Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory, on mapping perenniality and other traits in tetraploid sorghum populations.

University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS, United States
Show DescriptionDrs. Jim Bever, Peggy Shultz, and Ben Sikes are conducting soil ecology work on perennial polycultures and native grasslands. Dr. Nate Brunsell is researching carbon and hydrological dynamics in perennial crops. Bever and Shultz are the research coordinators for the Perennial Agriculture Project (PAP) research facility outside of Lawrence, Kansas, near Lecompton. The PAP is a joint project between The Land Institute and the Malone Family Land Preservation Foundation.

University of Manitoba, Canada
Manitoba, Canada
Show DescriptionDr. Doug Cattani’s position explicitly centers on the development of perennial grain crops and polyculture cropping systems. He is breeding Kernza® and Maximilian sunflower varieties for Manitoba using germplasm developed at The Land Institute.

University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN, United States
Show DescriptionThe Land Institute partners with the Forever Green Initiative to develop new perennial crops for the Upper Midwest. This extensive research involves genetic, breeding, agroecology and food science studies with Kernza®, silphium, and other potential new crops. More than 10 PhD level researchers are involved in the work, along with several graduate students. Many of these individuals are funded by the Perennial Agriculture Project, a joint project of the Malone Family Land Preservation Foundation and The Land Institute. Other funding comes from the University of Minnesota, Minnesota Legislature, Minnesota Legacy Water Quality Initiative, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and General Mills

University of Vermont
Burlington, VT
Show DescriptionProfessor Heather Darby is coordinating on-farm trials with silphium.

University of Wisconsin, Madison
Madison, WI, United States
Show DescriptionAssistant Prof. Valentin Picasso is beginning legume intercropping research with Kernza® and silphium.

Utah State University
Logan, UT
Show DescriptionDr. Steve Larson, a USDA-ARS grass geneticist, collaborates with The Land Institute scientists to study the genetics of perennial grasses that are being developed into grain crops.

Washington State University
Pullman, WA
Show DescriptionDr. Stephen Jones and his PhD students are breeding and evaluating perennial wheats as dual purpose grain and forage crops.

Yunnan University, China
Kunming, Yunnan, China
Show DescriptionDr. Fengyi Hu’s lab has successfully bred perennial rice hybrids for paddy cultivation, and continues to work on developing hybrids adapted to upland conditions. The Land Institute helps fund this work, and our scientists serve as advisors to this project.