Starting with hobbyist bakers on staff at The Land Institute, Kernza® has been tested in kitchens across the country for over a decade. Innovative chefs, bakers, brewers, distillers, researchers, and growers are using Kernza® in place of or combined with wheat or other grains. If you have a current licensing agreement with The Land Institute … Continue reading The Kernza^® Network

Kernza® grain is a potentially game-changing milestone for perenniality in agriculture. Yields are increasing, yet many years of plant breeding will be required for Kernza® to enter large-scale production and have maximum impact. It took extensive plant breeding and agronomy research to bring annuals like corn and wheat to current yields, and it will take … Continue reading Funders

Eaters agree: Kernza® tastes great! Kernza® grain has been used to make beer, flour, cereal, popped grain, sprouted grain crackers, and so much more! Kernza® consumers are inspired by more than taste, they are passionate about food that rebuilds soil, sequesters carbon, improves water quality, and provides farmers a stable livelihood. Grains make up over … Continue reading Consumers

Purchase a Kernza® Sample If you would like to purchase Kernza® for experimentation, please reach out to one of the licensed Kernza® distributors. Get Started Business Segments Consumer Packaged Goods With its unique combination of environmental benefits and nutritional value, Kernza® is helping brands meet the growing demand for nutritious, eco-conscious options. Technical Guide for … Continue reading Makers & Manufacturers

Unlike wheat, Kernza® grain can not be taken to the local grain elevator. From cleaning, dehulling, and milling the grain to purchasing and distributing it, innovative and resilient handlers are working to take Kernza® from the farmer’s field to market. Network: See Kernza® Handlers Why handlers are excited about getting Kernza® to market Kernza® is … Continue reading Handlers

Kernza® Perennial Grain is a beta crop in development and is being grown by experimental farmers across the U.S. and internationally. The Land Institute is committed to working with farmers and researchers to scale production responsibility, while ongoing genetic and agronomic improvements are achieved. How Farmers Are Benefitting Perennials regenerate soil health and sequester carbon … Continue reading Growers

Beyond the monoculture: crop diversity Harnessing ecological processes to supplant the need for inputs like fertilizers and pesticides can maintain food production while reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture. Using models of naturally occurring plant communities, Land Institute researchers aim to achieve new levels of ecological intensification with intercropping. Kernza®, for example, is already being … Continue reading Beyond Kernza^®

Kernza® grain has made its way into the commercial supply chain in niche markets with the goal of developing new varieties and growing methods that will enable widespread planting and use of Kernza® in commercial products. Four breeding programs are focused on selecting for a number of traits including yield, shatter resistance, free threshing ability, … Continue reading The State of Kernza^®

The modern scale of our extractive annual monoculture agricultural system threatens to collapse the critical cultural and natural systems upon which we depend. Perennial grains are a robust and transformative remedy that can provide ample human food and reduce or eliminate impacts from the disruptions and dependencies of industrial agriculture. 25% of the world's annual … Continue reading Why Perennial Grains?

Kernza® is a perennial grain used for baked goods, pasta, spirits, beers, or enjoyed as a whole grain like rice and pearled barley. Unlike traditional annual grains, Kernza® thrives for multiple years without replanting, reducing tillage and other resource-intensive inputs. Its extensive root system, which can reach over ten feet underground, prevents soil erosion, cleans water, … Continue reading What is Kernza^®?