The Land Institute: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|American nonprofit organization}}
{{citations needed|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox organization
{{Infobox organization
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| formation = {{start date|1976|08|01|df=y}}<ref name="officialwebtimeline" />
| formation = {{start date|1976|08|01|df=y}}<ref name="officialwebtimeline" />
| extinction = <!-- e.g. use {{end date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| type = Nonprofit organization
| type = Non-Profit Organization
| status =
| status =
| purpose = Transforming Agriculture, Perennially
| purpose = Agricultural and social research
| headquarters = Salina, Kansas
| headquarters = Salina, Kansas
| coords = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LON|display=inline,title}} -->
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| leader_title3 = Chief Impact Officer
| leader_title3 = Chief Impact Officer
| leader_title4 = Chief Operating Officer
| leader_title4 = Chief Operating Officer
| leader_name4 = Tracie Mattivi Thomas
| leader_name4 = Tracie Thomas
| board_of_directors = Chairperson of the Board
| board_of_directors = Chairperson of the Board
| key_people = Julia Olmstead
| key_people = Julia Ollmsted
| main_organ =
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| subsidiaries =
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| affiliations =
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| budget = $5.9 million USD
| budget = $6 million USD
| volunteers =
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| slogan = Hope, Rooted in Science
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| name = The Land Institute
| name = The Land Institute
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| secessions =
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| budget_year = 2020
| budget_year = 2020
| revenue = $6.2 million USD
| revenue = $6 million USD
| revenue_year = 2020
| revenue_year = 2020
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| website = https://landinstitute.org/
| website = {{URL|landinstitute.org}}
}}
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The '''Land Institute''' is an American [[nonprofit]] research, education, and policy organization dedicated to [[sustainable agriculture]], based in [[Salina, Kansas]]. Their goal is to develop an [[agricultural]] system based on [[Perennial grain|perennial crops]] that "has the [[ecological stability]] of the prairie and a grain yield comparable to that from [[annual plant|annual]] crops".<ref name="officialwebsitemissionandvision">{{cite web|title=The Land Institute Official Website: Vision & Mission|url=https://landinstitute.org/about-us/vision-mission/|access-date=}}</ref>
'''The Land Institute'''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Natural Systems Agriculture|url=https://landinstitute.org/|access-date=2021-11-19|website=The Land Institute|language=en-US}}</ref> is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization<ref>{{Cite web|title=Charity Navigator - Rating for The Land Institute|url=https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/480842156|access-date=2021-11-19|website=www.charitynavigator.org|language=en-US}}</ref> based in Salina, Kansas, that was founded in 1976. The Land Institute co-leads the global movement for perennial, diverse, truly regenerative agriculture at a scale. Their work, led by a team of plant breeders and ecologists in multiple partnerships worldwide, is focused on developing perennial grains, pulses and oilseed bearing plants to be grown in ecologically intensified, diverse crop mixtures known as perennial polycultures. The Land Institute’s goal is to create an agriculture system that mimics natural systems to produce ample food and reduce or eliminate the negative impacts of agriculture. Through transdisciplinary research and collaborations, The Land Institute builds learning communities to help society cross the threshold into diverse, perennial grain agricultures<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Crews|first=Timothy E.|last2=Carton|first2=Wim|last3=Olsson|first3=Lennart|date=2018|title=Is the future of agriculture perennial? Imperatives and opportunities to reinvent agriculture by shifting from annual monocultures to perennial polycultures|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S205947981800011X/type/journal_article|journal=Global Sustainability|language=en|volume=1|pages=e11|doi=10.1017/sus.2018.11|issn=2059-4798}}</ref>.


==History==
==History==
The institute was founded on 28 acres in 1976 by plant [[geneticist]] and [[MacArthur Fellows Program|MacArthur "genius grant"]] recipient [[Wes Jackson]] along with Dana Jackson, who has worked with the Land Stewardship Project in [[Minnesota]].<ref name="officialwebtimeline">{{cite web | url=http://www.landinstitute.org/land-institute-founded/ | title=The Land Institute Official Website: The Land Institute is Founded | access-date=30 December 2014}}</ref><ref name = "Fellows92">{{cite web|url = http://www.macfound.org/fellows/class/july-1992/ |title = Meet the 1992 MacArthur Fellows|author = The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation|access-date = 2013-07-01}}</ref><ref name="Jackson2002">{{cite book|author=Dana L. Jackson|title=The Farm as Natural Habitat: Reconnecting Food Systems With Ecosystems|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CXXY3yfL7DEC&pg=PA13|date=1 April 2002|publisher=Island Press|isbn=978-1-59726-269-9}}</ref> As of 2014, the organization owns at least 879 acres of land.<ref name=fall2014>{{cite web|title=Land Institute Official Website: Annual Report Fall 2014|url=http://www.landinstitute.org/about-us/annual-report/|access-date=31 December 2014}}</ref>
The institute was founded on {{convert|28|acre|ha|order=flip}} in 1976 by plant [[geneticist]] and [[MacArthur Fellows Program|MacArthur "genius grant"]] recipient [[Wes Jackson]] along with Dana Jackson, who has worked with the Land Stewardship Project in [[Minnesota]].<ref name="officialwebtimeline">{{cite web|title=The Land Institute Official Website|url=https://landinstitute.org/about-us/vision-mission/|access-date=}}</ref><ref name = "Fellows92">{{cite web|url = http://www.macfound.org/fellows/class/july-1992/ |title = Meet the 1992 MacArthur Fellows|author = The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation|access-date = 2013-07-01}}</ref><ref name="Jackson2002">{{cite book|author=Jackson|first=Dana L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CXXY3yfL7DEC&pg=PA13|title=The Farm as Natural Habitat: Reconnecting Food Systems With Ecosystems|date=1 April 2002|publisher=Island Press|isbn=978-1-59726-269-9}}</ref>


The Land Institute promotes "natural systems agriculture" through plant breeding.<ref name="qaNYtimes">{{cite news | url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/q-and-a-farming-for-an-uncertain-future/ | title=Q. and A.: Farming for an Uncertain Future | work=Green Blogs | date=27 September 2012 | agency=[[The New York Times]] | access-date=30 December 2014 | author=Shattuck, Kathryn}}</ref> Land Institute scientists are cross breeding the [[Annual plant|annual]] crop plants [[wheat]], [[sorghum]], [[sunflower]], and [[legume]] with wild, perennial relatives to create perennial varieties.<ref name="yesmagazinebetterfoodsystemsoil">{{cite journal | url=http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/food-for-everyone/ideas-for-a-better-food-system-soil | title=Ideas for a Better Food System :: Soil | author=Stern, Anna | journal=YES! Magazine | year=2009}}</ref><ref name="envsciAPbansol">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RIIq1r9dY0sC&q=the+land+institute&pg=PA304|last1=Friedland|first1=Andrew|last2=Relyea|first2=Rick|last3=Courard-Hauri|first3=David|last4=Jones|first4=Ross|last5=Weisburg|first5=Susan|title=Environmental Science for AP|date=2012|publisher=W.H. Freeman and Company|location=New York, New York|isbn=978-0-7167-3849-7|page=304|access-date=30 December 2014}}</ref> Using [[selective breeding]] and other techniques, they also are working to [[domesticate]] wild perennials.<ref name="nationalgeographicPerennialSolution">{{cite journal | url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/04/big-idea/perennial-grains-text | title=Perennial Solution | author=Kunzig, Robert | journal=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]] |date=April 2011 }}</ref> The organization's concept of developing perennial crops is modeled after the ecological design of [[prairies]], which are known for their soil quality, deep root systems, and self-sufficiency.<ref name="qaNYtimes" /><ref name="GoreauLarson2014" /><ref name="NowThisIsNaturalFood">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/23/opinion/bittman-now-this-is-natural-food.html?_r=0 | title=Now This Is Natural Food | work=The Opinion Pages | date=22 October 2013 | agency=[[The New York Times]] | access-date=30 December 2014 | author=Bittman, Mark}}</ref> In an interview, Wes Jackson called the concept "an inversion of industrial agriculture."<ref name="qaNYtimes" /> Perennial [[polyculture]] systems may have a variety of benefits over conventional annual [[monoculture]]s such as increased [[biodiversity]], reduced [[soil erosion]], and reduced inputs of [[irrigation]], [[fossil fuels]], [[fertilizers]], and [[pesticides]].<ref>{{cite journal |last= Simon Moffat|first= Anne|date= 1996-11-29|title= Agricultural Research: Higher Yielding Perennials Point the Way to New Crops|journal= [[Science (journal)|Science]]|volume= 274|issue= 5292|pages= 1469–1470|doi= 10.1126/science.274.5292.1469|s2cid= 129205776|url= http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/274/5292/1469 |access-date= 2009-07-08}}</ref><ref name="ThompsonThompson2005"/> Perennial crops also show promise in root-based [[carbon sequestration]].<ref name="Issues">{{cite journal | url=http://issues.org/28-1/whelchel/ | title=Paying for Perennialism: A Quest for Food and Funding | author=Berman, Elizabeth | journal=Issues in Science and Technology | author2=Welchel, Sarah}}</ref><ref name="huffpostperrenialbread">{{cite news | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julie-Ann-Fineman/post_8522_b_6073760.html | title=San Francisco's Perennial Is Beyond Farm to Fork: A Marriage of All Things Sustainable | work=The Blog: Green | date=30 October 2014 | agency=[[The Huffington Post]] | access-date=30 December 2014 | author=Fineman, Julie}}</ref> The organization's achievement of productive and genetically stable perennial crop plants for use by farmers is expected to take several decades.<ref name="envsciAPbansol" /><ref name="GoreauLarson2014">{{cite book|author1=Thomas J. Goreau|author2=Ronal W. Larson|author3=Joanna Campe|title=Geotherapy: Innovative Methods of Soil Fertility Restoration, Carbon Sequestration, and Reversing CO2 Increase|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eprNBQAAQBAJ&pg=PR17|date=4 December 2014|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4665-9540-8|page=17}}</ref> Critics note the future economic challenge in profitably harvesting perennial polyculture.<ref name="ThompsonThompson2005">{{cite book|author1=Paul B. Thompson|author2=W K Kellogg Chair in Agricultural Food and Community Ethics Paul B Thompson|title=The Spirit of the Soil: Agriculture and Environmental Ethics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uCyIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA124|date=25 July 2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-88442-1|pages=123–124}}</ref>
The Land Institute promotes "natural systems agriculture" through plant breeding.<ref name="qaNYtimes">{{cite news | url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/q-and-a-farming-for-an-uncertain-future/ | title=Q. and A.: Farming for an Uncertain Future | work=Green Blogs | date=27 September 2012 | agency=[[The New York Times]] | access-date=30 December 2014 | author=Shattuck, Kathryn}}</ref> Using [[selective breeding]] and other techniques, they are working to [[domesticate]] wild perennials.<ref name="nationalgeographicPerennialSolution">{{cite journal | url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/04/big-idea/perennial-grains-text | title=Perennial Solution | author=Kunzig, Robert | journal=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]] | date=April 2011 | access-date=2014-12-31 | archive-date=2011-10-05 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005202205/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/04/big-idea/perennial-grains-text | url-status=dead }}</ref> The organization's concept of developing perennial crops is modeled after the [[ecological design]] of [[prairies]], which are known for their [[soil quality]], deep root systems, and self-sufficiency.<ref name="qaNYtimes" /><ref name="GoreauLarson2014" /><ref name="NowThisIsNaturalFood">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/23/opinion/bittman-now-this-is-natural-food.html?_r=0 | title=Now This Is Natural Food | work=The Opinion Pages | date=22 October 2013 | agency=[[The New York Times]] | access-date=30 December 2014 | author=Bittman, Mark}}</ref> In an interview, Wes Jackson called the concept "an inversion of industrial agriculture."<ref name="qaNYtimes" /> Perennial [[polyculture]] systems may have a variety of benefits over conventional annual [[monoculture]]s such as increased [[biodiversity]], reduced [[soil erosion]], and reduced inputs of [[irrigation]], [[fossil fuels]], [[fertilizers]], and [[pesticides]].<ref>{{cite journal |last= Simon Moffat|first= Anne|date= 1996-11-29|title= Agricultural Research: Higher Yielding Perennials Point the Way to New Crops|journal= [[Science (journal)|Science]]|volume= 274|issue= 5292|pages= 1469–1470|doi= 10.1126/science.274.5292.1469|s2cid= 129205776|url= http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/274/5292/1469 |access-date= 2009-07-08}}</ref><ref name="ThompsonThompson2005"/> Perennial crops also show promise in root-based [[carbon sequestration]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=de Oliveira|first1=Gabriel|last2=Brunsell|first2=Nathaniel A.|last3=Crews|first3=Timothy E.|last4=DeHaan|first4=Lee R.|last5=Vico|first5=Giulia|date=2020-06-01|title=Carbon and water relations in perennial Kernza (Thinopyrum intermedium): An overview|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168945219308830|journal=Plant Science|series=Food Security under Climate Change|language=en|volume=295|pages=110279|doi=10.1016/j.plantsci.2019.110279|pmid=32534616 |s2cid=204160767 |issn=0168-9452}}</ref><ref name="Issues">{{cite journal | url=http://issues.org/28-1/whelchel/ | title=Paying for Perennialism: A Quest for Food and Funding | author=Berman, Elizabeth | journal=Issues in Science and Technology | author2=Welchel, Sarah| date=October 2011 }}</ref><ref name="huffpostperrenialbread">{{cite news | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julie-Ann-Fineman/post_8522_b_6073760.html | title=San Francisco's Perennial Is Beyond Farm to Fork: A Marriage of All Things Sustainable | work=The Blog: Green | date=30 October 2014 | agency=[[The Huffington Post]] | access-date=30 December 2014 | author=Fineman, Julie}}</ref> The organization's achievement of productive and genetically stable perennial crop plants for use by farmers is expected to take several decades.<ref name="envsciAPbansol">{{cite book|last1=Friedland|first1=Andrew|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RIIq1r9dY0sC&q=the+land+institute&pg=PA304|title=Environmental Science for AP|last2=Relyea|first2=Rick|last3=Courard-Hauri|first3=David|last4=Jones|first4=Ross|last5=Weisburg|first5=Susan|date=2012|publisher=W.H. Freeman and Company|isbn=978-0-7167-3849-7|location=New York, New York|page=304|access-date=30 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="GoreauLarson2014">{{cite book|author1=Thomas J. Goreau|author2=Ronal W. Larson|author3=Joanna Campe|title=Geotherapy: Innovative Methods of Soil Fertility Restoration, Carbon Sequestration, and Reversing CO2 Increase|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eprNBQAAQBAJ&pg=PR17|date=4 December 2014|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4665-9540-8|page=17}}</ref> Critics note the future economic challenge in profitably harvesting perennial polyculture.<ref name="ThompsonThompson2005">{{cite book|author1=Paul B. Thompson|author2=W K Kellogg Chair in Agricultural Food and Community Ethics Paul B Thompson|title=The Spirit of the Soil: Agriculture and Environmental Ethics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uCyIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA124|date=25 July 2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-88442-1|pages=123–124}}</ref>


Since 1979, The Land Institute has annually hosted its Prairie Festival, which includes lectures, art displays, tours, and music performances.<ref name="officialwebfirstfestival">{{cite web | url=http://www.landinstitute.org/1st-prairie-festival/ | title=The Land Institute Official Website: 1st Prairie Festival | access-date=30 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="OutPrarieMoonFestival">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/03/us/prairie-festival-draws-crowds-to-land-institute-in-kansas.html | title=Out on the Prairie, Moon, Music and Lectures, Too | work=Salina Journal | date=2 October 2012 | agency=[[The New York Times]] | access-date=30 December 2014 | author=Shattuck, Kathryn | location=Salina, Kansas, USA}}</ref>
Since 1979, The Land Institute has annually hosted its Prairie Festival, which includes lectures, art displays, tours, and music performances.<ref name="officialwebfirstfestival">{{cite web | url=http://www.landinstitute.org/1st-prairie-festival/ | title=The Land Institute Official Website: 1st Prairie Festival | access-date=30 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="OutPrarieMoonFestival">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/03/us/prairie-festival-draws-crowds-to-land-institute-in-kansas.html | title=Out on the Prairie, Moon, Music and Lectures, Too | work=Salina Journal | date=2 October 2012 | agency=[[The New York Times]] | access-date=30 December 2014 | author=Shattuck, Kathryn | location=Salina, Kansas, USA}}</ref>
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[[File:Harvesting Cycle 2 Thinopyrum intermedium.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Harvesting a ''[[Thinopyrum intermedium]]'' breeding nursery at The Land Institute]]
[[File:Harvesting Cycle 2 Thinopyrum intermedium.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Harvesting a ''[[Thinopyrum intermedium]]'' breeding nursery at The Land Institute]]


Kernza, an [[intermediate wheatgrass]] developed by the Land Institute, is the first [[perennial grain]] crop grown across the northern United States. A [[perennial grain]] is a [[Food grain|grain crop]] that lives and remains productive for two or more years. Rather than growing for only one season before harvest, like most grains and annual crops, perennial grains grow year after year. The name Kernza comes from combining the words [[Konza Prairie Biological Station|konza]] and [[Whole grain|kernel]]. Kernza was bred over 15 years by Lee DeHaan. [[General Mills]] has announced plans to use the crop in [[cereal]] production. It is marketed as a more sustainable alternative to traditional annual crops that deplete the soil. As of April 2019, Kernza harvests in the US are still small, on the order of 500 pounds per acre. By comparison US wheat yields about 4,000 pounds per acre.<ref name="npr">{{cite news |title=Can This Breakfast Cereal Help Save The Planet? |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/04/13/711144729/can-this-breakfast-cereal-help-save-the-planet |work=NPR}}</ref>
Kernza, an [[intermediate wheatgrass]] developed by The Land Institute, is the first commercial [[perennial grain]] crop grown across the northern United States. A [[perennial grain]] is a [[Food grain|grain crop]] that lives and remains productive for three or more years. Rather than growing for only one season before harvest, like most grains and annual crops, perennial grains grow year after year. After two decades of plant breeding over 11 cycles, The Land Institute has domesticated a form of wheatgrass whose seeds are two to three times bigger than those of its wild ancestor. Under ideal conditions, it can provide as much as 30 percent of the yield of traditional wheat. They call their trademarked creation Kernza—an amalgamation of "kernel" and "Kansas".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kaplan|first=Sarah|title=A recipe for fighting climate change and feeding the world|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/interactive/2021/bread-baking-sustainable-grain-kernza/|access-date=2021-11-19|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en}}</ref>


The [[University of Minnesota]] has one of the largest Kernza breeding programs in the country. Scientists at the University are selectively breeding the plant to improve some of the current issues, particularly those concerning yields. Their "Forever Green Initiative" has attracted interest from large agricultural producers like General Mills and also smaller local food shops like the Birchwood Cafe.<ref name=pbs>{{cite news |title=Birchwood Cafe's pancake recipe with Kernza, a greener grain |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/birchwood-cafes-pancake-recipe-with-kernza-a-greener-grain |access-date=22 November 2019 |work=PBS News Hour |date=16 November 2019}}</ref>
The [[University of Minnesota]] has one of the largest Kernza breeding programs in the country. Scientists at the University are selectively breeding the plant to improve some of the current issues, particularly those concerning yields. Their "Forever Green Initiative" has attracted interest from large agricultural producers like General Mills and also smaller local food shops like the Birchwood Cafe.<ref name=pbs>{{cite news |title=Birchwood Cafe's pancake recipe with Kernza, a greener grain |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/birchwood-cafes-pancake-recipe-with-kernza-a-greener-grain |access-date=22 November 2019 |work=[[PBS NewsHour]] |date=16 November 2019}}</ref>


The General Mills brand Cascadian Farm has incorporated Kernza into some of its products including Cascadian Farm Cereal.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Twitter|last2=Hull|first2=University of|last3=Copenhagen|first3=University of|last4=LinkedIn|last5=School|first5=Harvard University Extension|title=Perennial Grains Start Appearing on Grocery Store Shelves|url=https://www.treehugger.com/perennial-grains-start-appearing-on-store-shelves-5204747|access-date=2021-11-19|website=Treehugger|language=en}}</ref>
The General Mills brand Cascadian Farm has incorporated Kernza into some of its foods, with the first Kernza cereal produced in 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Can This Breakfast Cereal Help Save The Planet?|language=en|work=NPR.org|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/04/13/711144729/can-this-breakfast-cereal-help-save-the-planet|access-date=2021-11-19}}</ref> Cascadian Farm agreed to purchase an initial amount of the perennial grain, which is driving farmers to plant on commercial-scale fields versus the test sized plots currently being grown.


===Products===
===Products===


Kernza breeding has dramatically increased seed size and production, hastening the timeline of commercialization, and resulting in the release of the first widely-available Kernza product, Long Root Ale from Patagonia Provisions, in 2016. The initiative and investment on the part of Patagonia Provisions to bring Long Root Ale to market led to other partnerships and potential Kernza products becoming more widely available to consumers. Currently, there are a number of restaurants serving products made with Kernza, including Birchwood Cafe in Minneapolis, [[Café Gratitude|Cafe Gratitude]] in the Los Angeles metro, and Avalanche Pizza in Athens, Ohio.
Kernza breeding has dramatically increased seed size and production, hastening the timeline of commercialization, and resulting in the release of the first widely-available Kernza product, Long Root Ale from Patagonia Provisions, in 2016. The initiative and investment on the part of Patagonia Provisions to bring Long Root Ale to market led to other partnerships and potential Kernza products becoming more widely available to consumers. Currently, there are a number of restaurants serving products made with Kernza, including Birchwood Cafe in Minneapolis, [[Café Gratitude|Cafe Gratitude]] in the Los Angeles metro, and Avalanche Pizza in Athens, Ohio.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/perennial-wheat-is-an-ecologists-dream-soon-it-may-be-whats-for-dinner/2016/10/02/0533bb7e-84f3-11e6-92c2-14b64f3d453f_story.html | author=Jane Black | date=October 2, 2016 | newspaper= [[Washington Post]] | title=Perennial wheat is an ecologist's dream; soon it may be what's for dinner}}</ref>


After the Birchwood Cafe received a 50 pound bag of grain from the University of Minnesota researchers they began baking [[Cracker (food)|cracker]]s, [[pancakes]]. [[tortilla]]s, and puffed grain desserts.<ref name=pbs/>
After the Birchwood Cafe received a 50-pound bag of grain from the University of Minnesota researchers they began baking [[Cracker (food)|cracker]]s, [[pancakes]], [[tortilla]]s, and puffed grain desserts.<ref name=pbs/>


[[Hopworks Urban Brewery]] in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, brewed Long Root Ale for Patagonia Provisions and has it on tap, in addition to the ale in four-pack cans being sold in [[Whole Foods Market|Whole Foods]] in California. Bang! Brewing in St. Paul, Minnesota, has a Kernza beer available, as does Blue Skye Brewery nearby in Salina, Kansas. Innovative Dumpling & Strand produces Kernza pasta that they retail through Twin Cities-area farmers’ markets. The Minneapolis based Fair State Brewing Cooperative partnered with Northern outfitter [[Askov Finlayson]] in 2018 to produce Keep the North Cold, a golden ale brewed with Kernza. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/05/10/kernza-beer-perennial-grain-climate-change|title = Kernza fights climate change, and makes a tasty MN beer}}</ref>
[[Hopworks Urban Brewery]] in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, brewed Long Root Ale for Patagonia Provisions and has it on tap, in addition to the ale in four-pack cans being sold in [[Whole Foods Market|Whole Foods]] in California. Bang! Brewing in St. Paul, Minnesota, has a Kernza beer available, as does Blue Skye Brewery nearby in Salina, Kansas. Innovative Dumpling & Strand produces Kernza pasta that they retail through Twin Cities-area farmers' markets. The Minneapolis based Fair State Brewing Cooperative partnered with Northern outfitter [[Askov Finlayson]] in 2018 to produce Keep the North Cold, a golden ale brewed with Kernza.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/05/10/kernza-beer-perennial-grain-climate-change|title = Kernza fights climate change, and makes a tasty MN beer| date=10 May 2018 }}</ref>


In 2024 Patagonia Provisions released a line of [[durum|durum wheat]] and Kernza pasta.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.patagoniaprovisions.com/collections/organic-pasta|title = Organic Pasta| date=14 April 2024 }}</ref>
⚫
===Ecological Benefits===


⚫
===Ecological benefits===
With perennial soil cover such as that provided by Kernza, farmers stand to greatly reduce soil erosion, potentially turning agriculture into a soil-forming ecosystem, much like the natural ecosystems it replaced. Initial research suggests that due to extensive perennial roots, Kernza and other perennial crops may nurture beneficial soil microbiomes. The frequent soil disturbance required in annual crop production is disruptive to these [[microbiomes]].
With perennial soil cover such as that provided by Kernza, farmers stand to greatly reduce soil erosion, potentially turning agriculture into a soil-forming ecosystem, much like the natural ecosystems it replaced. Initial research suggests that due to extensive perennial roots, Kernza and other perennial crops may nurture beneficial soil microbiomes. The frequent soil disturbance required in annual crop production is disruptive to these [[microbiomes]].


Deeper and more abundant root systems drive healthy soil. Scientific evidence documenting the ecosystem benefits of Kernza is accumulating. Research from other perennial systems such as pastures and perennial [[biofuel crops]] provide robust evidence of the potential benefits of a perennial grain like Kernza.
Deeper and more abundant root systems drive healthy soil. Scientific evidence documenting the ecosystem benefits of Kernza is accumulating. Research from other perennial systems such as pastures and perennial [[biofuel crops]] provide robust evidence of the potential benefits of a perennial grain like Kernza.


For example, Paustian and colleagues published in 2016 a paper in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' titled "Climate-Smart Soils" that compares different landscape management approaches for increasing [[soil carbon sequestration]].<ref>{{cite journal | title=Climate-smart soils |author1=Paustian, Keith |author2=Lehmann, Johannes |author3=Ogle, Stephen |author4=Reay, David | author5-link=Robertson, G. Philip |author5=Robertson, G. Philip |author6=Smith, Pete | journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | date=April 7, 2016 | volume=532 | issue=7597 | pages=49–57 | doi=10.1038/nature17174|pmid=27078564 |bibcode=2016Natur.532...49P | hdl=2164/7569 |s2cid=205248025 | hdl-access=free }}</ref> It is clear from their analysis that perennial grains would be a game-changer, as they could sequester carbon and maintain more cropland in production better than any alternative.<ref name="Cornell Chronicle">{{cite web | url=https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2016/04/climate-smart-soils-may-help-balance-carbon-budget | title='Climate-smart soils' may help balance the carbon budget | work=[[Cornell Chronicle]] | date=April 6, 2016 | access-date=September 13, 2019 | author=Friedlander, Blaine}}</ref>
For example, Paustian and colleagues published in 2016 a paper in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' titled "Climate-Smart Soils" that compares different landscape management approaches for increasing [[soil carbon sequestration]].<ref>{{cite journal | title=Climate-smart soils |author1=Paustian, Keith |author2=Lehmann, Johannes |author3=Ogle, Stephen |author4=Reay, David | author5-link=Robertson, G. Philip |author5=Robertson, G. Philip |author6=Smith, Pete | journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | date=April 7, 2016 | volume=532 | issue=7597 | pages=49–57 | doi=10.1038/nature17174|pmid=27078564 |bibcode=2016Natur.532...49P | hdl=2164/7569 |s2cid=205248025 |url=https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/24670325/24670049._AAM..pdf | hdl-access=free }}</ref> It is clear from their analysis that perennial grains would be a game-changer, as they could sequester carbon and maintain more cropland in production better than any alternative.<ref name="Cornell Chronicle">{{cite web | url=https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2016/04/climate-smart-soils-may-help-balance-carbon-budget | title='Climate-smart soils' may help balance the carbon budget | work=[[Cornell Chronicle]] | date=April 6, 2016 | access-date=September 13, 2019 | author=Friedlander, Blaine}}</ref>


===Perennial Grains Story Project===
===Perennial Grains Story Project===
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==Appearances in published works==
==Appearances in published works==
The Land Institute's work was featured in [[Michael Pollan]]'s ''[[New York Times]]'' best-seller ''[[The Omnivore's Dilemma|The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals]]''.<ref name="Pollan2006">{{cite book|author=Michael Pollan|title=The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qh7dkdVsbDkC|year=2006|publisher=Penguin Group|isbn=978-1-59420-082-3}}</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/ref/books/review/20061210tenbestbooks.html "The 10 Best Books of 2006"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 12, 2006</ref> The general [[modus operandi]] of developing a [[Sustainability|sustainable]], high yield, low labor, agricultural model based on the culturation of crop polycultures, developed by The Land Institute forms the substance of the chapter "How Will We Feed Ourselves?" in [[Janine Benyus]]'s book, ''[[Biomimicry]]: Innovation Inspired by Nature''.<ref>{{cite book |title= Biomimicry : innovation inspired by nature|chapter= How Will We Feed Ourselves?|last= Benyus |first= Janine M|author-link= Janine Benyus|orig-year= First published 1997|year= 2002|publisher= [[Harper Perennial|Perennial]]|location= New York|isbn= 978-0-06-053322-9|oclc= 51226447}}</ref>
The Land Institute's work was featured in [[Michael Pollan]]'s ''[[New York Times]]'' best-seller ''[[The Omnivore's Dilemma|The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals]]''.<ref name="Pollan2006">{{cite book|author=Michael Pollan|title=The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qh7dkdVsbDkC|year=2006|publisher=Penguin Group|isbn=978-1-59420-082-3}}</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/ref/books/review/20061210tenbestbooks.html "The 10 Best Books of 2006"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 12, 2006</ref> The general [[modus operandi]] of developing a [[Sustainability|sustainable]], high yield, low labor, agricultural model based on the culturation of crop polycultures, developed by The Land Institute forms the substance of the chapter "How Will We Feed Ourselves?" in [[Janine Benyus]]'s book, ''[[Biomimicry]]: Innovation Inspired by Nature''.<ref>{{cite book |title= Biomimicry : innovation inspired by nature|chapter= How Will We Feed Ourselves?|last= Benyus |first= Janine M|author-link= Janine Benyus|orig-year= First published 1997|year= 2002|publisher= [[Harper Perennial|Perennial]]|location= New York|isbn= 978-0-06-053322-9|oclc= 51226447}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|Environment|Ecology|Earth_sciences|Energy}}
{{Portal|Environment|Ecology|Earth sciences|Energy}}
*[[Plant breeding]]
*[[Plant breeding]]


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{{Commons category|The Land Institute}}
{{Commons category|The Land Institute}}
*[https://landinstitute.org/ The Land Institute website]
*[https://landinstitute.org/ The Land Institute website]
*[https://kernza.org/what-is-kernza/ Kernza]
*[https://www.context.org/iclib/ic14/wjackson/ 1986 interview with In Context]
*[https://www.context.org/iclib/ic14/wjackson/ 1986 interview with In Context]
*[https://www.kshs.org/p/the-land-institute-collection/13779 Kansas State Historical Society page on Land Institute and its archives]
*[https://www.kshs.org/p/the-land-institute-collection/13779 Kansas State Historical Society page on Land Institute and its archives]
*{{YouTube|id=j12vrJIh0Tk|title=How a new grain could help combat climate change}} November 16, 2019, [[PBS NewsHour]]
*{{YouTube|id=j12vrJIh0Tk|title=How a new grain could help combat climate change}} November 16, 2019, [[PBS NewsHour]]


{{Authority control}}
{{coord|38|46|08|N|97|33|08|W|region:US-KS_type:landmark|display=title}}
{{coord|38|46|08|N|97|33|08|W|region:US-KS_type:landmark|display=title}}


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[[Category:Environmental organizations based in the United States]]
[[Category:Environmental organizations based in the United States]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Kansas]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Kansas]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1976]]
[[Category:Research institutes established in 1976]]
[[Category:Plant breeding]]
[[Category:Plant breeding]]
[[Category:Sustainability organizations]]
[[Category:Sustainability organizations]]

Latest revision as of 17:53, 27 April 2024

The Land Institute
Formation1 August 1976 (1976-08-01)[1]
FoundersWes Jackson, Dana Jackson
TypeNonprofit organization
48-0842156
PurposeAgricultural and social research
HeadquartersSalina, Kansas
Location
President
Rachel Stroer
Chief Scientist
Tim Crews
Chief Impact Officer
Amy Cole
Chief Operating Officer
Tracie Thomas
Chairperson of the Board
Key people
Julia Ollmsted
Budget (2020)
$6 million USD
Revenue (2020)
$6 million USD
Staff (2020)
50
Websitelandinstitute.org

The Land Institute is an American nonprofit research, education, and policy organization dedicated to sustainable agriculture, based in Salina, Kansas. Their goal is to develop an agricultural system based on perennial crops that "has the ecological stability of the prairie and a grain yield comparable to that from annual crops".[3]

History[edit]

The institute was founded on 11 hectares (28 acres) in 1976 by plant geneticist and MacArthur "genius grant" recipient Wes Jackson along with Dana Jackson, who has worked with the Land Stewardship Project in Minnesota.[1][4][5]

The Land Institute promotes "natural systems agriculture" through plant breeding.[6] Using selective breeding and other techniques, they are working to domesticate wild perennials.[7] The organization's concept of developing perennial crops is modeled after the ecological design of prairies, which are known for their soil quality, deep root systems, and self-sufficiency.[6][8][9] In an interview, Wes Jackson called the concept "an inversion of industrial agriculture."[6] Perennial polyculture systems may have a variety of benefits over conventional annual monocultures such as increased biodiversity, reduced soil erosion, and reduced inputs of irrigation, fossil fuels, fertilizers, and pesticides.[10][11] Perennial crops also show promise in root-based carbon sequestration.[12][13][14] The organization's achievement of productive and genetically stable perennial crop plants for use by farmers is expected to take several decades.[15][8] Critics note the future economic challenge in profitably harvesting perennial polyculture.[11]

Since 1979, The Land Institute has annually hosted its Prairie Festival, which includes lectures, art displays, tours, and music performances.[16][17]

Kernza[edit]

Harvesting a Thinopyrum intermedium breeding nursery at The Land Institute

Kernza, an intermediate wheatgrass developed by The Land Institute, is the first commercial perennial grain crop grown across the northern United States. A perennial grain is a grain crop that lives and remains productive for three or more years. Rather than growing for only one season before harvest, like most grains and annual crops, perennial grains grow year after year. After two decades of plant breeding over 11 cycles, The Land Institute has domesticated a form of wheatgrass whose seeds are two to three times bigger than those of its wild ancestor. Under ideal conditions, it can provide as much as 30 percent of the yield of traditional wheat. They call their trademarked creation Kernza—an amalgamation of "kernel" and "Kansas".[18]

The University of Minnesota has one of the largest Kernza breeding programs in the country. Scientists at the University are selectively breeding the plant to improve some of the current issues, particularly those concerning yields. Their "Forever Green Initiative" has attracted interest from large agricultural producers like General Mills and also smaller local food shops like the Birchwood Cafe.[19]

The General Mills brand Cascadian Farm has incorporated Kernza into some of its foods, with the first Kernza cereal produced in 2019.[20] Cascadian Farm agreed to purchase an initial amount of the perennial grain, which is driving farmers to plant on commercial-scale fields versus the test sized plots currently being grown.

Products[edit]

Kernza breeding has dramatically increased seed size and production, hastening the timeline of commercialization, and resulting in the release of the first widely-available Kernza product, Long Root Ale from Patagonia Provisions, in 2016. The initiative and investment on the part of Patagonia Provisions to bring Long Root Ale to market led to other partnerships and potential Kernza products becoming more widely available to consumers. Currently, there are a number of restaurants serving products made with Kernza, including Birchwood Cafe in Minneapolis, Cafe Gratitude in the Los Angeles metro, and Avalanche Pizza in Athens, Ohio.[21]

After the Birchwood Cafe received a 50-pound bag of grain from the University of Minnesota researchers they began baking crackers, pancakes, tortillas, and puffed grain desserts.[19]

Hopworks Urban Brewery in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, brewed Long Root Ale for Patagonia Provisions and has it on tap, in addition to the ale in four-pack cans being sold in Whole Foods in California. Bang! Brewing in St. Paul, Minnesota, has a Kernza beer available, as does Blue Skye Brewery nearby in Salina, Kansas. Innovative Dumpling & Strand produces Kernza pasta that they retail through Twin Cities-area farmers' markets. The Minneapolis based Fair State Brewing Cooperative partnered with Northern outfitter Askov Finlayson in 2018 to produce Keep the North Cold, a golden ale brewed with Kernza.[22]

In 2024 Patagonia Provisions released a line of durum wheat and Kernza pasta.[23]

Ecological benefits[edit]

With perennial soil cover such as that provided by Kernza, farmers stand to greatly reduce soil erosion, potentially turning agriculture into a soil-forming ecosystem, much like the natural ecosystems it replaced. Initial research suggests that due to extensive perennial roots, Kernza and other perennial crops may nurture beneficial soil microbiomes. The frequent soil disturbance required in annual crop production is disruptive to these microbiomes.

Deeper and more abundant root systems drive healthy soil. Scientific evidence documenting the ecosystem benefits of Kernza is accumulating. Research from other perennial systems such as pastures and perennial biofuel crops provide robust evidence of the potential benefits of a perennial grain like Kernza.

For example, Paustian and colleagues published in 2016 a paper in Nature titled "Climate-Smart Soils" that compares different landscape management approaches for increasing soil carbon sequestration.[24] It is clear from their analysis that perennial grains would be a game-changer, as they could sequester carbon and maintain more cropland in production better than any alternative.[25]

Perennial Grains Story Project[edit]

The Perennial Grains Story Project is a strategic communications collaborative whose goal is to sustain enthusiasm and support for perennial grain polyculture development, and Kernza use in particular, as part of a holistic vision for more truly sustainable food production. The partnership is enhancing internal communications among Kernza users and breeders, while working to create communications products that serve the diversity of partner goals and interest.

Appearances in published works[edit]

The Land Institute's work was featured in Michael Pollan's New York Times best-seller The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.[26][27] The general modus operandi of developing a sustainable, high yield, low labor, agricultural model based on the culturation of crop polycultures, developed by The Land Institute forms the substance of the chapter "How Will We Feed Ourselves?" in Janine Benyus's book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature.[28]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "The Land Institute Official Website".
  2. ^ "The Land Institute Official Website: Contact Us". Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  3. ^ "The Land Institute Official Website: Vision & Mission".
  4. ^ The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. "Meet the 1992 MacArthur Fellows". Retrieved 2013-07-01.
  5. ^ Jackson, Dana L. (1 April 2002). The Farm as Natural Habitat: Reconnecting Food Systems With Ecosystems. Island Press. ISBN 978-1-59726-269-9.
  6. ^ a b c Shattuck, Kathryn (27 September 2012). "Q. and A.: Farming for an Uncertain Future". Green Blogs. The New York Times. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  7. ^ Kunzig, Robert (April 2011). "Perennial Solution". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 2011-10-05. Retrieved 2014-12-31.
  8. ^ a b Thomas J. Goreau; Ronal W. Larson; Joanna Campe (4 December 2014). Geotherapy: Innovative Methods of Soil Fertility Restoration, Carbon Sequestration, and Reversing CO2 Increase. CRC Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-4665-9540-8.
  9. ^ Bittman, Mark (22 October 2013). "Now This Is Natural Food". The Opinion Pages. The New York Times. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  10. ^ Simon Moffat, Anne (1996-11-29). "Agricultural Research: Higher Yielding Perennials Point the Way to New Crops". Science. 274 (5292): 1469–1470. doi:10.1126/science.274.5292.1469. S2CID 129205776. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
  11. ^ a b Paul B. Thompson; W K Kellogg Chair in Agricultural Food and Community Ethics Paul B Thompson (25 July 2005). The Spirit of the Soil: Agriculture and Environmental Ethics. Routledge. pp. 123–124. ISBN 978-1-134-88442-1.
  12. ^ de Oliveira, Gabriel; Brunsell, Nathaniel A.; Crews, Timothy E.; DeHaan, Lee R.; Vico, Giulia (2020-06-01). "Carbon and water relations in perennial Kernza (Thinopyrum intermedium): An overview". Plant Science. Food Security under Climate Change. 295: 110279. doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2019.110279. ISSN 0168-9452. PMID 32534616. S2CID 204160767.
  13. ^ Berman, Elizabeth; Welchel, Sarah (October 2011). "Paying for Perennialism: A Quest for Food and Funding". Issues in Science and Technology.
  14. ^ Fineman, Julie (30 October 2014). "San Francisco's Perennial Is Beyond Farm to Fork: A Marriage of All Things Sustainable". The Blog: Green. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  15. ^ Friedland, Andrew; Relyea, Rick; Courard-Hauri, David; Jones, Ross; Weisburg, Susan (2012). Environmental Science for AP. New York, New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-7167-3849-7. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  16. ^ "The Land Institute Official Website: 1st Prairie Festival". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  17. ^ Shattuck, Kathryn (2 October 2012). "Out on the Prairie, Moon, Music and Lectures, Too". Salina Journal. Salina, Kansas, USA. The New York Times. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  18. ^ Kaplan, Sarah. "A recipe for fighting climate change and feeding the world". Washington Post. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  19. ^ a b "Birchwood Cafe's pancake recipe with Kernza, a greener grain". PBS NewsHour. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  20. ^ "Can This Breakfast Cereal Help Save The Planet?". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  21. ^ Jane Black (October 2, 2016). "Perennial wheat is an ecologist's dream; soon it may be what's for dinner". Washington Post.
  22. ^ "Kernza fights climate change, and makes a tasty MN beer". 10 May 2018.
  23. ^ "Organic Pasta". 14 April 2024.
  24. ^ Paustian, Keith; Lehmann, Johannes; Ogle, Stephen; Reay, David; Robertson, G. Philip; Smith, Pete (April 7, 2016). "Climate-smart soils" (PDF). Nature. 532 (7597): 49–57. Bibcode:2016Natur.532...49P. doi:10.1038/nature17174. hdl:2164/7569. PMID 27078564. S2CID 205248025.
  25. ^ Friedlander, Blaine (April 6, 2016). "'Climate-smart soils' may help balance the carbon budget". Cornell Chronicle. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  26. ^ Michael Pollan (2006). The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Penguin Group. ISBN 978-1-59420-082-3.
  27. ^ "The 10 Best Books of 2006", The New York Times, December 12, 2006
  28. ^ Benyus, Janine M (2002) [First published 1997]. "How Will We Feed Ourselves?". Biomimicry : innovation inspired by nature. New York: Perennial. ISBN 978-0-06-053322-9. OCLC 51226447.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Land Institute.

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