Additional Ventures donates $1,800,000 to The Land Institute to aid in quantifying the carbon sequestration capabilities and accelerate the development of perennial grains
Salina, KS, March Additional Ventures recently made a catalytic donation to The Land Institute to accelerate the development of perennial grain crops, innovative new agricultural tools for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
According to the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land, “better management of soils can offset 5-20% of current global anthropogenic GHG emissions.”
Perennial grains stand to have a significant impact on reaching the upper limits of that range. The deep roots and year-over-year re-growth of perennial grains minimize or eliminate tilling and the need for fossil intensive, toxic chemical inputs, while maximizing soil organic matter to store carbon deep in the soil over the long-term.
“Every step we take to accelerate the research and development of novel new perennial grains is a step closer to realizing the climate mitigating impact of this technology on the grain producing soils of the world,” says Land Institute Acting President, Rachel Stroer.
The gift supports the addition of Kernza® perennial grain, developed at The Land Institute, to the USDA COMET-farm soil carbon calculator. This breakthrough will allow farmers to receive payment from emerging carbon markets for the carbon sequestration benefits of Kernza® production, and will quantify the potential climate change impact of Kernza® at a national scale. Additionally, this grant accelerates the development of perennial crops through germplasm research and expanded genomic selection in key breeding programs.
“Supporting The Land Institute enables us to positively impact a critical component of the climate crisis,” said Mike Schroepfer, co-founder of Additional Ventures. “This grant is helping create a paradigm shift in modern agriculture to reduce impact on the climate via carbon sequestration.”
As a non-profit organization, The Land Institute’s work and impact are made possible by the generosity of many people across all levels of giving. To learn more about Additional Ventures’ portfolio of impact, visit additionalventures.org.
The Land Institute co-leads the global movement for perennial, diverse, truly regenerative agriculture at a scale that matches the enormity of the intertwined climate, water, and food security crises. The Land Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Salina, Kansas, founded in 1976. The Land Institute’s goal is to create an agricultural system that mimics natural systems in order to produce ample food and reduce or eliminate the negative impacts of grain agriculture.