By Jake Christie for Great Lakes Echo.
Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Minnesota News Connection, reporting for Great Lakes Echo/Solutions Journalism/Public News Service Collaboration.

After 10,000 years of domestication, farming and its popularity for use in bread and beer, wheat could have some competition.

Scientists call it Thinopyrum intermedium. Growers call it Kernza.

One of its biggest advantages?

It's perennial.

Perennial crops require less tilling and fertilizer, and grow back year after year.

Kernza has deep roots and excels at soaking up nitrates in soil and runoff, said Jake Jungers, assistant professor in the department of agronomy at the University of Minnesota. And that helps protect water systems.

Those roots also take carbon out of the air and lock it away in the soil, which helps combat climate change, Jungers said.

The Land Institute is a nonprofit research organization based in Kansas that develops crops and cropping systems that benefit the soil.

The organization has been developing Kernza for about 20 years, trying to improve the wheatgrass so it can be an alternative to wheat, said Tammy Kimbler, director of communications with The Land Institute.

The institute works with several universities and researchers across the United States and worldwide.

The Forever Green Initiative at the University of Minnesota works with Kernza, and 15 other crops to improve crop production.

The initiative took a holistic approach in developing Kernza, thinking about how the plant could benefit farmers and the environment, said Mitch Hunter, associate director of the Forever Green Initiative.

The challenges are significant. Kernza yields only about 20% of the grain wheat does, one of the downfalls of having deep roots, said Prabin Bajgain, an assistant professor in the department of agronomy and plant genetics at the University of Minnesota.

Improving Kernza's yield is a focus of his work, but other traits with strange names like shatter resistance and free threshing ability are just as important, Bajgain said.

Shatter resistance is a seed's resistance to breaking from physical contact, or as part of its lifecycle. Free threshing ability is how easily the plant can be harvested mechanically.

They've had some success in developing those traits, but still have a ways to go in developing yield, Bajgain said.

One technology they're avoiding is genetic modification.

Wheat has a several thousand year head start on Kernza, and genetic modification could help to bridge the gap. But it comes with downsides, Bajgain said.

Negative perceptions of genetically modified organisms could hurt Kernza's introduction into fields and markets, Bajgain said.

"You don't want any negative press, especially when these crops are so new," Bajgain said, "The crops are so diverse, we might not need that right now. If I plant 500 plants of Kernza, each plant looks different from another."

While there's a focus on natural breeding practices, researchers use genetic sequencing technology to speed the selection of plants and to keep desirable traits, Bajgain said.

Kernza has already made its way into a few different markets.

Patagonia Provisions partnered with Dogfish Head Brewery and released a Kernza pilsner in 2022 that's available in stores across the country.

Bang Brewing in St. Paul, Minnesota, started working with Kernza in 2016, said Sandy Boss Febbo, the brewery's co-owner and co-brewer.

From its prefabricated construction, and native prairie and wildflower beer garden, to their use of all organic ingredients, the brewery was built with sustainability in mind, Boss Febbo said. So when they had the chance to brew with Kernza, they jumped on it.

Kernza brings a nuttiness, as well as some spice, to the beers it's used in. But its flavor changes depending on where it's grown, a quirk similar to wine grapes that likely stems from deep roots, Boss Febbo said.

A few other businesses use Kernza across the rest of the country and Kernza flour is available online.

In terms of fighting climate change and producing food, it's not enough to just switch out wheat with Kernza, Hunter said.

Part of the Forever Green Initiative's work is a concept called continuous living cover. That means planting crops so there's always something living in the soil.

"We need to bake conservation right into our cropping system." Hunter said, "Conservation should not be an add-on to the way we grow food, it should be essential."

Using perennials like Kernza with winter annual or perennial crops can increase soil and water health, Hunter said.

The Land Institute hopes Kernza can catch up to wheat in terms of availability and surpass it in economic benefit.

"With the rate of technological advances and the kinds of funding and collaborations that are happening now, it should be able to achieve wheat-like yields in about 15 to 17 years," Kimbler said.

"Which, in plant breeding terms, is remarkably fast."

This story was produced with original reporting from Jake Christie at Great Lakes Echo.



get more stories like this via email

A new report is calling for greater accountability in the system providing funding to farmers in underserved communities.

The research takes a dive into the Farm Credit System, examining the risks and suggesting improvements to make the system more fair and more sustainable.

Joshua Humphreys, president and senior fellow of Croatan Institute, a farmer and lead author of the report, said despite the Farm Credit System making around 45% of all agricultural loans, there is no transparency in how much of the funding goes to small, midsized or socially disadvantaged farmers.

"Minority homebuyers were deeply underserved, yet no data demographically related to race, ethnicity, or gender along the lines of other equal lending opportunity sectors are provided," Humphreys observed.

According to the report, most of the Farm Credit System loans go to very large operations, and fewer than 20% to small or beginning farmers. Humphreys argued the findings can be an opportunity for the system to address the disparities.

The report also points to the system's lack of climate-related reporting, and suggests ways to make sustainability a bigger priority in lending. For the last several decades, farmers have dealt with increased risks from rising temperatures and more frequent severe storms to wildfires.

David Beck, director of policy at Self-Help Credit Union and a contributor to the report, said that as Ag's Government Sponsored Enterprise, Farm Credit should be doing more to help farmers to transition to more eco-friendly practices.

"For instance, helping small farmers or even larger farmers switch to more regenerative ag practices that can require a lot of upfront cost," Beck suggested. "Maybe helping subsidize that switch to more sustainable ag systems."

The research touched on some governance issues as well, like board members serving expired terms. Humphreys emphasized the challenges must be addressed, as taxpayers ultimately would bail the system out in the event of a crisis.

"Agriculture is not immune from a wide array of environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities," Humphreys noted. "I think that's the key takeaway, is that we really want to encourage the Farm Credit System to end its laggard position among government-sponsored enterprises."

The report recommends conducting more climate research, implementing Green and Impact Bonds, and establishing a grant set-aside program through a congressional mandate.

By Ellie Kuckelman for The Reader.
Broadcast version by Deborah Van Fleet for Nebraska News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration

On a small farm in Omaha, spring is making its presence felt. Patches of snow melt, flowers rise from their beds and a pair of Canadian geese nest in the tilled fields.

"It's the same pair, and they come back every year for about three weeks," said Mark Brannen, co-owner of Benson Bounty.

From the outside, the 1.5-acre homestead, bordered by homes and a car lot, may not seem like much. But since 2015, Mark Brannen and his wife, Michelle, have managed to foster a complex ecosystem amid the variety of herbs, vegetables and other produce they grow and sell. By rotating crops, planting cover crops, using homemade compost and limiting outside inputs, they've created a sustainable system - and they've done it using many of the key principles of an agricultural approach known as biodynamic farming.

"One of the biggest things for me ... is the focus on the farm as a whole system," Brannen said.

Biodynamic farming utilizes the relationships between plants, animals and soil to turn one's waste into another's energy and eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Practices include only treating crops with compost and water as well as setting aside land for biodiversity and natural habitats.

Not only do these practices create more sustainable farms, but they also could help fight climate change. Organic farming, closely related to biodynamic farming, requires significantly less energy and produces less greenhouse gasses, such as nitrous oxide and methane, than conventional agriculture. And while these practices represent a tiny portion of all farms in the U.S., interest is growing and advocates say the mission couldn't be more important.

"It's about healing the earth - the plant communities, the animal communities, as well as the human community," said Evrett Lunquist, director of Certification for Demeter Association, Inc., and co-owner of the Common Good biodynamic farm near Raymond, Nebraska.

The Missing Piece

While Lunquist studied agronomy as a college student many years ago, he came across biodynamic agriculture in a comparison study between two farms. The idea that farms could work with, rather than against, the environment clicked with him.

"It was the piece that had been missing in my college studies," Lunquist said.

The early concepts of biodynamic farming were articulated in 1924 when Austrian scientist and philosopher Rudolf Steiner gave a series of lectures to European farmers who were noticing a quick decline in soil conditions, crop quality and animal health after using chemical pesticides.

Steiner presented the farm as a living organism sustained by the relationships between its crop growth, soil vitality and livestock. In 1928, The Demeter Biodynamic® Standard for certification was established and is currently regulated by Demeter International.

Today the number of biodynamic farms is on the rise, increasing globally by more than 47% between 2000 and 2018. There are currently about 140 certified farms in the U.S., according to Lunquist, and just two in Nebraska. Those numbers don't include farms such as Benson Bounty, which implements many biodynamic practices but is not certified.

The Demeter Biodynamic Farm Standard requires the whole farm be certified, not just a specific crop, which could be the case on an organic farm where single fields can be certified at a time.

While organic certification mainly outlines the materials that can and cannot be applied to the soil and its crop, biodynamic certification looks at how all the components of the farm interact, outlining both requirements and principles.

In addition, biodynamic farms must dedicate at least 10% of their land as a wildland reserve, generating the farm's own fertility. They also use biodynamic preparations, such as field sprays, composting and cow manure, to fertilize crops and control pests with farm-generated solutions rather than insecticides. The end result is not only higher-quality food, but also an improved ecosystem as the farm recycles its own resources.

"Instead of having a huge carbon footprint, you're actually refocusing on having a carbon-negative footprint," Lunquist said.

For Beth Corymb, the approach aligns perfectly with Nebraska farmers' long-held commitment to stewardship of the land. She and her husband, Nathan, run Meadowlark Hearth, a 540-acre biodynamic farm in Scottsbluff. About 150 acres of the farm is a nature reserve. In 2010 the Corymbs also started a biodynamic seed company.

Corymb said biodynamic farming encourages farmers "to look at the earth as a living being."

"That thought process helps to approach the earth in a different way," she said.

Though the number of certified biodynamic farms is tiny in comparison to organic (an industry that comprised 17,445 certified farms in 2022), its practices can still have value without a certification.

For Brannen, biodynamic practices have made a big difference in his soil health. By composting his farm's plant and animal waste, as well as using sustainable planting practices, he's not only getting the nutrients he needs but is also promoting a lively ecosystem below the soil.

"If you just worry about creating a healthy environment for soil microbes, then everything else kind of takes care of itself," Brannen said.

Lunquist said that's the fundamental inspiration behind biodynamics - recognizing that soil produces more than just a chemical reaction.

"If you're taking chemical fertilizers and putting it on the soil, you effectively have a hydroponic crop production system," Lunquist said. "There is nothing that the soil is providing to the health and vitality of the plant."

Buying Biodynamic

Biodynamic products can be purchased through a variety of channels.

The Corymbs sell their produce at farmers' markets, as well as through Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA. In these farm-run programs, consumers purchase shares of the coming harvest's crop in advance and then during harvesting season they receive weekly boxes of fresh produce.

While Lunquist and his wife have used farmers' markets and CSA in the past, their current channels consist of email lists, retail stores and grocery co-ops, such as Open Harvest in Lincoln, which has sold their eggs, produce, meat and plant seedlings for more than 24 years.

Benson Bounty sells its herbs to local Omaha markets and restaurants. The Brannens also send out weekly emails for what they have in stock.

"We have a lot of people who shop from us in the neighborhood, so they will bike or walk down," Brannen said.

He said customers have noticed a difference in the herbs from their farm - they are fresher than the majority of herbs in the U.S., which are imported from foreign markets.

Lunquist also sees the value in buying locally, especially when customers become acquainted with the farm's name.

"When you eat the food, it's nourishment," Lunquist said. "But then there's another nourishment that comes from eating food where you have either been to the farm or you know the farmer. It is part of the experience."

Obstacles to Biodynamics

Because biodynamic farms are diverse and self-sustaining, they often require more labor than conventional farms that specialize in specific crops or animals.

Space can also be an issue.

"One of the challenges is being able to produce all the inputs that we need here on the farm because we are on a smaller space," Brannen said.

While Benson Bounty has chickens, housing more animals such as cattle and goats would be impossible without more room.

Organic and biodynamic farming also often produce lower yields than conventional farms - as much as about 20% lower, according to a 2014 study from the University of California, Berkeley.

This has led to scrutiny of whether alternatives to conventional farming practices should play a larger role in the global agricultural system. However, studies show despite lower yields, biodynamic farming is more profitable, creates more jobs and is better for the environment. Additional research to close the yield gap, or changing consumption patterns to more plant-based diets, could make alternatives much more palatable.

Public policy could also help transition more farms to sustainable practices as the global population, demand for food, and the effects of climate change increase.

"We are looking forward to more sustainable growth," Lunquist said.

'A Continual Learning Process'

The Brannens' first taste of biodynamic farming came while working on an organic farm in Panama in 2012. Eleven years later, they continue to implement the biodynamic practices they learned there as well as share the knowledge they've cultivated with others.

The rewards have been bountiful. They're shielded from the risks of outside markets while creating a healthy, productive farm that's been their full-time job for close to a decade. Now their three kids, ages 8, 6 and 2, are helping by planting crops, churning compost, collecting eggs or doing any number of other odd jobs.

It's harder this way, Brannen said. Working without shortcuts means more trial and error, but the more you listen and adapt, the more the land can give back."That's what farming is," Brannen said, "a continual learning process."


Ellie Kuckelman wrote this article for The Reader.


get more stories like this via email

Texas farmers who want to transition some of their land from conventional crops to organics are getting help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Bob Whitney, a Regents Fellow and extension organic program specialist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, works with the state's Transition to Organic Partnership Program. Whitney said California grows more organic fruits and vegetables, but Texas is making inroads.

"We're number one in organic dairy production, we're number one in organic peanut production, number one in cotton production," Whitney outlined. "The last couple years, we've been number one in organic rice production."

Before crops can be certified organic, farmers must manage their land without using synthetic pesticides for 36 months. So far, Texas has issued 383 organic certificates to farmers. Overall, estimates show Texas in sixth place among the states for organic ag acres.

A report by Statista said global sales of organic food increased from $18 billion in 2000 to $131 billion in 2021.

Supermarket produce labeled organic has been strictly defined by the federal government since 2002, and Whitney noted shoppers pay attention.

"I'll just tell you these other labels that are on foods are not very well trusted, according to research," Whitney observed. "Organic still has a very high trust with the consumer."

He added participants chosen for the program will learn organic practices, business development, marketing and more, from farmers who have already been successful.

"These farmers that we will work with will be paid a mentorship fee," Whitney explained. "They will help these transition farmers with questions, with how-tos; a little bit of pep talking when they need it."

Whitney has found once farmers commit to organics, they don't look back.

"I can tell you that I do not lose organic producers," Whitney asserted. "As I've heard many of them say, 'You know what, I've got kids, and I'd rather know that they're not out there in the middle of something that's been sprayed.'"

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has committed $100 million to the Organic Transition Initiative.


get more stories like this via email