From the article: This is a hopeful development, even though it might take a generation or so for widespread and efficient use. The Kernza® perennial wheatgrass in the article has grains only 20%...
From the article:
Perennial grains don’t require yearly planting, harvesting and replanting. Instead, they are planted once every few years.
Researchers say their root systems, which can reach several feet down, can access water deeper in the ground. That helps them better withstand short-term drought. And when heavy rain hits, the larger root structures can absorb excess water that would otherwise run off and erode the soil. Those deeper roots also sequester more carbon, reducing pollution in the atmosphere.
This is a hopeful development, even though it might take a generation or so for widespread and efficient use. The Kernza® perennial wheatgrass in the article has grains only 20% of the size of standard wheat grains, so the ratio of chaff to edible grain is much higher, and the properties aren't quite a 1:1 substitute.
Even so, the benefits are substantial - less fossil fuels used for cultivation; minimized tilling, which preserves topsoil, sequesters carbon, and minimizes nutrient runoff; lower water, fertilizer and herbicide use; higher biodiversity and animal/bird habitat in undisturbed fields; and grazing for integrated livestock. It's not a drop-in replacement for current industrially farmed grains, though.
I had the pleasure of taking a course this summer with the head of a local school's regenerative agriculture program, who's also a farmer, and she was a fountain of knowledge about this stuff. The bottom line is that the upfront cost is higher both in labor and material, but regenerative practices can produce 80 - 90% of conventional yields after a few years, have far lower input costs over time, and can be maintained indefinitely.
From the article:
This is a hopeful development, even though it might take a generation or so for widespread and efficient use. The Kernza® perennial wheatgrass in the article has grains only 20% of the size of standard wheat grains, so the ratio of chaff to edible grain is much higher, and the properties aren't quite a 1:1 substitute.
Even so, the benefits are substantial - less fossil fuels used for cultivation; minimized tilling, which preserves topsoil, sequesters carbon, and minimizes nutrient runoff; lower water, fertilizer and herbicide use; higher biodiversity and animal/bird habitat in undisturbed fields; and grazing for integrated livestock. It's not a drop-in replacement for current industrially farmed grains, though.
I had the pleasure of taking a course this summer with the head of a local school's regenerative agriculture program, who's also a farmer, and she was a fountain of knowledge about this stuff. The bottom line is that the upfront cost is higher both in labor and material, but regenerative practices can produce 80 - 90% of conventional yields after a few years, have far lower input costs over time, and can be maintained indefinitely.