On July 10th and 11th, 2024, The Land Institute hosted our first-ever advocacy “fly-in” event in Washington, DC where stakeholders representing perennial grain agriculture and research: President Rachel Stroer of The Land Institute in Kansas, Owner David Stennes of Arcola Farms in Minnesota, and Co-Founder and Farmer Brandon Kaufman of Sustain-A-Grain in Kansas, flew to DC to engage with United States congressional and USDA staff to advance national cross-sector Kernza perennial grain research.
The fly-in enabled Rachel, Brandon, and David to inform policymakers of the extraordinary advances in Kernza farming, research, and supply chain development. These conversations demonstrated how agricultural policy and government support for perennial grain research benefit the nation’s farmers, consumers, and natural resources by bolstering ongoing research efforts and propelling Kernza research to meet growing demands for sustainable grain and forage.
These are exciting times for Kernza and the perennial grain movement. Kernza has garnered widespread support across the US state and federal government research programs (USDA), academia, industry, farming, small businesses, and nonprofits. The grain’s market potential is underscored by its growing availability of products like pancake mix, cereal, beer, spirits, bread, crackers, and noodles in local and national markets. Importantly, Kernza’s deep root system promises to improve water quality, enhance biodiversity, and provide a drought-resilient alternative to water-intensive crops—a crucial asset in addressing diverse agricultural challenges across the United States.
The Kernza fly-in team held productive discussions with key representatives, including staff from the offices of Representative Jake LaTurner (KS), Representative Sharice Davids (KS), Senator Tina Smith (MN), Senator Jerry Moran (KS), Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN), Representative Tracey Mann (KS), Representative Betty McCollum (MN), and Senator Tammy Baldwin (WI). Additionally, their efforts included a meeting with Senator Roger Marshall (KS) himself, highlighting the critical support for Kernza perennial grain research. By engaging in initial conversations around Kernza with impactful policymakers, this group of Kernza advocates paved the way for future discussions with decision-makers around the benefits of Kernza in US agriculture and the need for investments in perennial grain infrastructure to overcome obstacles that could hinder agricultural productivity.
The group also engaged in a productive session with the Senate Agriculture Committee Staff and a robust discussion with Jeremy Adamson, Chief of Staff for USDA’s Research Education and Economics division. Central to their advocacy was a call for a $7 million appropriation for Kernza research within the USDA, emphasizing the transformative impact federal funding could have on the crop’s development.
The Land Institute partners with USDA Agricultural Research Service researchers nationwide to improve Kernza’s food, forage, and brewing quality. A $7 million congressional appropriation for Kernza research would enable the continuation of critical research and help accelerate the grain’s growth and expansion at a time when Kernza, the first commercially available perennial grain, is ripe with the potential to create transformative agricultural change. With the US government’s support, The Land Institute and farmers nationwide aim to expand their efforts to “develop perennial varieties of all major row crops“ (and other novel new crops, pg 37).
Looking ahead, we encourage interested stakeholders to attend field days across the Upper Midwest or visit The Land Institute to tour our research headquarters in Salina, KS, to learn firsthand the promise of perennial grain agriculture and its implications for the future of food and farming.
We would like to thank Bev Paul of Davenport Policy, Brandon Kaufman, David Stennes, our partner advocate organizations, and many staffers on Capitol Hill and beyond for making this fly-in day possible.
For more information or questions, please contact Dr. Kelsey Whiting, Perennial Grain Public Policy and Governmental Affairs Postdoctoral Researcher (kwhiting@landinstitute.org) or Rachel Stroer, President (stroer@landinstitute.org) at The Land Institute.