Prairie Research Could Help Farming Become More Resilient, Sustainable
On a still November day, Patrick O’Neal, the burn coordinator at Kansas State University’s Konza Prairie Biological Station near Manhattan, Kansas, convenes a meeting about a planned fire. “The goal…
Our Turn At This Earth: The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For
“Are We the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For?” This was the title of Wes Jackson’s speech at last year’s Prairie Festival, an event held each September at the Land Institute…
Our Turn At This Earth: Wes Jackson And The Life Of The Mind
What if you discovered that a genius, a visionary thinker who could string thoughts and words together that make you believe in your own potential and that of all humanity,…
Our Turn At This Earth: Wes Jackson and the Land Institute
Often at meetings concerning the future of the Ogallala Aquifer, I have questioned the wisdom of using precious groundwater to grow corn. Farmers who make their livings growing that crop…
Global Agriculture Has a Planting Problem
Climate-friendly crops are getting more attention from farmers and food companies as pressure mounts to find sustainable forms of agriculture. Enter Kernza, a new grain that’s already got powerful backers like General…
Fred Iutzi is Working to Develop Kernza, a Sustainable Perennial Grain That Could Feed a Growing World Population
“The problem that agriculture has faced for 10,000 years is it started with the wrong hardware,” Fred Iutzi, president of The Land Institute, a research organization in Salina, Kan., told…
Fred Iutzi: Changes are Coming
TOPEKA, Kan. — Keynote speaker Fred Iutzi, president of The Land Institute, helped the Kansas Rural Center mark its 40th anniversary at their annual conference in early November by dealing…
How a New Grain Could Help Combat Climate Change
Scientists in Minnesota and Kansas are developing a grain called Kernza, which, unlike most of our food crops, is a perennial plant with a whole host of environmental benefits. While…
9 Experts Predict What the Future of Food Will Look Like
EatingWell sat down with nine trend whisperers—from nutrition and agriculture experts to lab-grown-meat gurus and microbiome researchers—to find out what transformative technologies, policies and products will define the next decade…
Salina Woman Appointed to Humanities Kansas
Kansas Governor Kelly appointed Aubrey Streit-Krug, Abby Killingsworth, Jamie Oliver and Brittany Novotny to the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission. “The creative arts industry is a very important piece of…
‘Braiding the sacred’: Land Institute studies relationship between people, plants
A ritual in May in a field near Salina changed Abbi Han’s life. Han had never been a caretaker for plants. Now, the research resident at the Land Institute is…
Follow the Food – Why Soil is Disappearing from Farms
Follow the Food – a multimedia series by BBC Future and BBC World News – investigates how farmers, researchers and innovators are working to secure a sustainable long-term future for…