Perennial wheatgrass is beginning to take root
Staff writer
A wheatgrass 21 years in development is taking root in Marion County and surrounding fields.
Kernza, developed by the Land Institute in Salina, has made its way into small niche markets. It is used in baking, pasta, cereal, and beer brewing. Anything made with wheat can be made with Kernza.
According to certified seed dealer Sustain-A-Grain, the cousin to wheat has a distinct, slightly nutty flavor.
It is higher in protein than wheat and nutritionally similar, with gluten less strong than wheat.
Because the plant is a perennial, growers don’t need to till. Roots grow deeper and prevent erosion, filter water, sequester carbon, and prevent nitrogen runoff.
Kernza can be grazed during certain periods, adding to its economic sustainability.
“In the spring, you have to get cattle off of it,” Sustain-A-Grain cofounder Brandon Kaufman said.
Other Kernza advantages include fewer equipment passes over the field. Few equipment modifications are needed to harvest Kernza.
The plant generally has a production window of three to five years before being rotated to the next crop, but that’s not a hard-and-fast rule.
“I harvested a crop after nine years,” Brandon said.
Besides selling Kernza seed, Sustain-A-Grain also sells flour, cookies, noodles, and cereal through its website. Those products are not produced by the company.
Kaufman said the company came about after a friend asked why he grew corn every year and he admitted that he didn’t know. The two founded the company in 2018.
Getting fields seeded is always stressful, Kaufman said. With Kernza, the first year is establishment, and after that, the grain is there for years to come.
Farmers, including him, have preconceptions as to how they should operate, Kaufman said.
His company works to expand thinking beyond those preconceptions, he said.
“With Kernza, there’s the opportunity to graze, which puts more cattle in the landscape and high quality forage in the landscape,” Kaufman said.
Kaufman’s company isn’t trying to put perennials into every field, but it has close to 12 Marion County farmers either growing Kernza or planning to grow it this year.
Sustain-A-Grain cleans and processes Kernza and delivers it to elevators.
Yields have not been as high as annual wheat but are improving, Kaufman said.
The Land Institute, which developed Kernza, has been around since 1976, chief communications officer Tammy Kimbler, for the Land Institute said.
It will sponsor a large homecoming prairie festival that fall.
The institute offers tours every Friday morning in March through September.
More information is available at (785) 823-5376.