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Formation | 1 August 1976 (1976-08-01)[1] |
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Founders | Wes Jackson, Dana Jackson |
Type | Nonprofit organization |
48-0842156 | |
Purpose | Agricultural and social research |
Headquarters | Salina, Kansas |
Location |
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President | Rachel Stroer |
Chief Scientist | Tim Crews |
Chief Impact Officer | Amy Cole |
Chief Operating Officer | Tracie Thomas |
Chairperson of the Board | |
Key people | Julia Ollmsted |
Budget | $6 million USD (2020) |
Revenue | $6 million USD (2020) |
Staff | 50 (2020) |
Website | landinstitute |
TheLand Institute is an Americannonprofit research, education, and policy organization dedicated tosustainable agriculture, based inSalina, Kansas. Their goal is to develop anagricultural system based onperennial crops that "has theecological stability of the prairie and a grain yield comparable to that fromannual crops".[3]
The institute was founded on 11 hectares (28 acres) in 1976 by plantgeneticist andMacArthur "genius grant" recipientWes Jackson along with Dana Jackson, who has worked with the Land Stewardship Project inMinnesota.[1][4][5]
The Land Institute promotes "natural systems agriculture" through plant breeding.[6] Usingselective breeding and other techniques, they are working todomesticate wild perennials.[7] The organization's concept of developing perennial crops is modeled after theecological design ofprairies, which are known for theirsoil quality, deep root systems, and self-sufficiency.[6][8][9] In an interview, Wes Jackson called the concept "an inversion of industrial agriculture."[6] Perennialpolyculture systems may have a variety of benefits over conventional annualmonocultures such as increasedbiodiversity, reducedsoil erosion, and reduced inputs ofirrigation,fossil fuels,fertilizers, andpesticides.[10][11] Perennial crops also show promise in root-basedcarbon sequestration.[12][13][14] The organization's achievement of productive and genetically stable perennial crop plants for use by farmers is expected to take several decades.[15][8] Critics note the future economic challenge in profitably harvesting perennial polyculture.[11]
Since 1979, The Land Institute has annually hosted its Prairie Festival, which includes lectures, art displays, tours, and music performances.[16][17]
Kernza, anintermediate wheatgrass developed by The Land Institute, is the first commercialperennial grain crop grown across the northern United States. Aperennial grain is agrain crop that lives and remains productive for three or more years. Rather than growing for only one season before harvest, like most grains and annual crops, perennial grains grow year after year. After two decades of plant breeding over 11 cycles, The Land Institute has domesticated a form of wheatgrass whose seeds are two to three times bigger than those of its wild ancestor. Under ideal conditions, it can provide as much as 30 percent of the yield of traditional wheat. They call their trademarked creation Kernza—an amalgamation of "kernel" and "Kansas".[18]
TheUniversity of Minnesota has one of the largest Kernza breeding programs in the country. Scientists at the University are selectively breeding the plant to improve some of the current issues, particularly those concerning yields. Their "Forever Green Initiative" has attracted interest from large agricultural producers like General Mills and also smaller local food shops like the Birchwood Cafe.[19]
The General Mills brand Cascadian Farm has incorporated Kernza into some of its foods, with the first Kernza cereal produced in 2019.[20] Cascadian Farm agreed to purchase an initial amount of the perennial grain, which is driving farmers to plant on commercial-scale fields versus the test sized plots currently being grown.
Kernza breeding has dramatically increased seed size and production, hastening the timeline of commercialization, and resulting in the release of the first widely-available Kernza product, Long Root Ale from Patagonia Provisions, in 2016. The initiative and investment on the part of Patagonia Provisions to bring Long Root Ale to market led to other partnerships and potential Kernza products becoming more widely available to consumers. Currently, there are a number of restaurants serving products made with Kernza, including Birchwood Cafe in Minneapolis,Cafe Gratitude in the Los Angeles metro, and Avalanche Pizza in Athens, Ohio.[21]
After the Birchwood Cafe received a 50-pound bag of grain from the University of Minnesota researchers they began bakingcrackers,pancakes,tortillas, and puffed grain desserts.[19]
Hopworks Urban Brewery in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, brewed Long Root Ale for Patagonia Provisions and has it on tap, in addition to the ale in four-pack cans being sold inWhole Foods in California. Bang! Brewing in St. Paul, Minnesota, has a Kernza beer available, as does Blue Skye Brewery nearby in Salina, Kansas. Innovative Dumpling & Strand produces Kernza pasta that they retail through Twin Cities-area farmers' markets. The Minneapolis based Fair State Brewing Cooperative partnered with Northern outfitterAskov Finlayson in 2018 to produce Keep the North Cold, a golden ale brewed with Kernza.[22]
In 2024 Patagonia Provisions released a line ofdurum wheat and Kernza pasta.[23]
With perennial soil cover such as that provided by Kernza, farmers stand to greatly reduce soil erosion, potentially turning agriculture into a soil-forming ecosystem, much like the natural ecosystems it replaced. Initial research suggests that due to extensive perennial roots, Kernza and other perennial crops may nurture beneficial soil microbiomes. The frequent soil disturbance required in annual crop production is disruptive to thesemicrobiomes.
Deeper and more abundant root systems drive healthy soil. Scientific evidence documenting the ecosystem benefits of Kernza is accumulating. Research from other perennial systems such as pastures and perennialbiofuel crops provide robust evidence of the potential benefits of a perennial grain like Kernza.
For example, Paustian and colleagues published in 2016 a paper inNature titled "Climate-Smart Soils" that compares different landscape management approaches for increasingsoil carbon sequestration.[24] It is clear from their analysis that perennial grains would be a game-changer, as they could sequester carbon and maintain more cropland in production better than any alternative.[25]
The Perennial Grains Story Project is a strategic communications collaborative whose goal is to sustain enthusiasm and support for perennial grain polyculture development, and Kernza use in particular, as part of a holistic vision for more truly sustainable food production. The partnership is enhancing internal communications among Kernza users and breeders, while working to create communications products that serve the diversity of partner goals and interest.
The Land Institute's work was featured inMichael Pollan'sNew York Times best-sellerThe Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.[26][27] The generalmodus operandi of developing asustainable, high yield, low labor, agricultural model based on the culturation of crop polycultures, developed by The Land Institute forms the substance of the chapter "How Will We Feed Ourselves?" inJanine Benyus's book,Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature.[28]
38°46′08″N97°33′08″W / 38.76889°N 97.55222°W /38.76889; -97.55222