27-04-2025
Nonprofit working on sustainable alternative to traditional grains in Salina
SALINA, Kan. (KSNW) – The Land Institute, a national sustainable agriculture nonprofit, is working on turning native wheatgrass into a viable alternative to traditional grains. Wheatgrass has very deep roots, holds water better during droughts, and keeps topsoil in place.
The Land Institute is dedicated to perennial agriculture, perennial meaning that once it's planted, it doesn't need to be replanted every year. It grows, sprouts, gets harvested, then sprouts again the next year.
That's the idea behind this field of experimental crops called Kernza. Once it's fully grown, it will be about this tall, and the Land Institute, along with some of its partners, is already bringing it to the public's attention.
'Grains make up something like 70% of calories that humans ingest,' Tessa Peters, the director of strategy for The Land Institute, said
Kernza originated as a native wheatgrass with deep roots, making it an appealing candidate for crossbreeding with other grains.
'They initially were using it as a parent to cross with annual wheat,' Peters said.
The Land Institute uses test fields to improve Kernza's kernel size and crop yield, which is only a fraction of that of traditional wheat. While the stalks are experimental, products made from their grains are entering the wider market.
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'It happens to taste great, which makes it easy,' Peters said.
A market is being developed with the help of a group called Sustain-A-Grain.
'Increasing the supply, making sure it's there, increasing the demand, and getting companies to include it in their menus and their offerings,' Peters said.
'It's a special thing that we get to be part of this new, big, exciting thing,' Tammy Jarvis, the owner of Ad Astra Bookstore and Coffee House, said.
Ad Astra Books and Coffee House has incorporated the product into their menu for years, even phasing out their classic bagels in favor of Kernza toast.
'Our customer base loves it … our entire breakfast menu is really centered around that bread,' Jarvis said.
It's the same story at PrairieLand Market, just down the street.
'I think we're really just integrating into the mindset of salinians that kernza is here and this is something that is grown right here in our backyard,' Allison Wolf, the community supported agriculture and education coordinator at PrairieLand Market.
With efforts like this across the country, advocates aim to get people to want it and farmers to plant it.
'It could be a way to really change the environment and our health as well,' Wolf said.
The Land Institute isn't just working on perennial Kernza. They are also working on year-round versions of more traditional grain producers like wheat. They argue that making the incentives of agriculture and economics meet means a healthier world for farmers and their consumers.
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