Watch out world, that's the future of agriculture blowing in the wind. The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas is developing perennial versions of wheat, sorghum, and sunflowers. Their long living roots sink deep into the soil, protecting against erosion, accessing scarce water, and repairing soil ecology. Not content with reimagining the crops themselves, the Institute is also developing perennial versions of nitrogen-fixing legumes for inter-planting, seeking to bypass 'traditional' fertilizer requirements. Their mission to revolutionize annual plant-and-till, petroleum-based agriculture (that pesky 10,000 year old problem of civilization, and what they consider the number one environmental danger) might sound a bit idealistic, but practical results are already being sown: Patagonia has put in the first commercial order for Kernza, the Institute's perennial wheat, to be planted this fall and from there headed to the company's new sustainable adventure food products. Their developments are all still works in process, but their methodology is antithetical to agro giants like Monsanto's. The closer they get to a viable crop, the more partners they seek to test, grow, and improve their seeds. Their open source grains are being developed 'for humanity' and as such will be neither owned nor patented by for-profit corporations. Read more at www.landinstitute.org
