Farmers turn to perennial grains as one solution to extreme weather
[September 05, 2026] By
JOSHUA A. BICKEL and ALEXA ST. JOHN
BELOIT, Kan. (AP) — Bryce Black kneels in a wheat field battered by
intense drought. He holds two strands, remarking on how small the seed
head is compared with what's normal.
After a late October rain last year, the fourth-generation farmer was
optimistic about his 1,800 acres (728 hectares) of winter wheat. But a
dry winter and spring brought extreme drought when the wheat needed
moisture to establish itself. He ended up harvesting about 1,500 acres
(607 hectares), but the yield was the lowest he's had since taking over
his family's farm in 2017.
“It was just a grit your teeth and get through it type of deal,” said
Black, who also grows corn, soybeans and milo on his family’s 4,500-acre
(1,821 hectare) farm. “It is disheartening, you know? And it’s kind of
hard to know what to do.”
When these weather events occur, farmers often look for new ways to
protect their crops and their bottom line.
A small number are putting perennial grains in rotation to build
resilience against extreme weather like drought and intense rainfall.
Researchers are working to develop perennial versions of common annual
grains like wheat, sorghum and rice, but the work is slow. And
widespread adoption by farmers is challenging because perennial crops
don’t yield as much, harvesting can be difficult and the market is still
developing.
Despite the challenges, Black is intrigued.
“I’m in survival mode,” he said. “If you can plant something and then
you don’t have to go back for four or five years … that would save so
much money, so much labor, everything. That’s what makes it enticing.”
What is a perennial grain?
Five years ago, David Mueller planted a 12-acre (5 hectare) field of
Kernza, a perennial grain similar to native grasses found in parts of
Europe and western Asia.
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.
Kernza is one of several perennial grains under development at The Land
Institute in Salina, Kansas, about an hour’s drive north of Mueller’s
farm. The institute, which formally began domesticating Kernza in 2001,
works with researchers and farmers around the world to develop perennial
versions of wheat, rice, sorghum and other grain and oil seeds.
Some farmers in Southeast Asia and parts of Africa have started planting
and harvesting perennial rice in their fields. Kernza, though, is
furthest along and was first harvested on a farm in 2010.
In the U.S. last year, Kernza was cultivated on 3,511 acres (1,421
hectares), compared with 37.2 million acres (15.1 million hectares) of
winter, spring and Durum wheat harvested or planted in 2025-26.
Mueller's Kernza field is one of almost 100 acres (40 hectares) he has
planted since 2018. He's used the crop to rebuild soil with drainage
issues or to reestablish organic matter on his family's farm in
Halstead, Kansas, where they also farm about 600 acres (243 hectares)
each of corn and soybeans.
He also said Kernza uses about a third of the fertilizer that wheat
needs, and because it's planted once every few years, he doesn't have to
run gas-burning farm equipment as often.
“Not only are we able to utilize those acres profitably, but then we
also build up that soil and work on some benefits to make it hopefully
profitable to raise other crops on those fields in the future,” Mueller
said.
A 2024 United Nations report suggests that by 2050, soil degradation
could cause more than $20 trillion in losses to the global economy.
Farming perennials is less disruptive to that carbon-capturing soil.
Soil serves as a reservoir, capturing planet-warming carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere that plays a role in climate change, experts say. Annual
cultivation — the plow, plant, harvest and repeat cycle — strains soil
formation, which takes thousands of years and rapidly degrades the
farmland. Perennial roots can also bring that carbon deeper into soils,
where it is less likely to be disturbed, said Laura van der Pol, The
Land Institute's lead soil ecologist.
And soil that has more carbon in it tends to be better for plants.
“Incorporating perennials into our agriculture seems like really the
only option to have soil for generations if we want to continue to grow
food,” van der Pol said. “It’s hard to imagine getting to a place where
we could have soil and abundant food without a perennial option.”
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David Mueller pulls a Kernza seed out of its husk Tuesday, July 28,
2026, at his farm in Halstead, Kan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
 Lower yields and harvesting can
be challenging
Pilot programs involving perennial grains are in the works around
the world, testing how to grow them in different regions, climates
and soils, but the research is early and slow-moving.
Chief among the challenges is the crops' grain yield, said Lee
DeHaan, who leads the Institute’s Kernza domestication program.
Kernza farmers are getting yields of about 20 to 40% of what they
might get from a wheat crop in the area. That's because a perennial
crop has to use energy not only to grow seeds for grain, but also to
grow roots to penetrate the soil so it can survive for more than a
year. That contrasts with annual crops, which are engineered to put
as much energy as possible into making as much seed as they can in
one growing season.
Researchers at Cornell University also have found that establishing
a Kernza field can be difficult as it contends with weeds in its
first year. Finding the right seeding rate to maximize yield is also
still being studied, said Matthew Ryan, a sustainable cropping
professor at Cornell University.
Mueller said new varieties of Kernza are yielding more than previous
ones, but the yield can decline as the crop ages. Yields on
perennial rice are similar to annual ones, officials at The Land
Institute said.
Harvesting Kernza specifically can be challenging. The grain is
smaller than wheat, for example, and farmers and researchers are
still finding the best ways to adapt farm equipment so the kernel
isn't damaged during harvest.
Still, Ryan said farmers who experience crop loss due to drought or
major flooding may be prompted to think about ways to build more
resilience into their operations.
“I think farmers, more than other people, realize that the climate
is changing,” he said. “They prompt people to think, and I feel like
they are driving farmers to practice this.”
Markets are still developing despite cautious interest
Even as perennial grain development steadily improves and more
farmers sign on to grow it, there are still issues with consumer
interest, federal support and research infrastructure.
Aaron Gaeddert, the owner of Prairy in Newton, Kansas, sells Kernza
products and develops food products in his test kitchen. The grain
has a sweeter flavor than wheat and can be found in products like
baking mixes and beer. Building awareness is challenging, Gaeddert
said, but he's hopeful interest will grow as new products are
developed.
“We still have customers that shop here all the time who don’t know
what Kernza is, and we’ve had it on our shelves for three or four
years,” he said. “I truly think that it’s gonna take some bigger
industry players to adopt a new grain like this.”
And while farmers receive federal bridge payments and other
assistance for traditional crops amid market disruptions and
increased production costs, federal funding for perennial grains is
lacking. The value of a farmer's land and the loans they can get to
subsidize operations are directly connected to what they grow.
Brandon Schlautman, a perennial crop scientist and farmer at
Sustain-a-Grain, a supplier and distributor of Kernza, said he
constantly hears from farmers who want to grow it, but he turns away
almost all of them because the market isn't developed enough.
“What farmers really need is access to the product or the grain
itself,” Schlautman said. “And stable markets that allow them to
grow Kernza and sell it profitably and sustainably.”
Mueller contracts with Sustain-a-Grain, which sells him Kernza seed
and buys back his crop at a fixed price. That guaranteed price means
he doesn’t have to worry as much about the risk of planting an
alternative crop. Mueller agrees the market for Kernza is small, but
that means farmers who grow it can be paid a premium, sometimes 5 to
10 times the price of a pound of wheat, he said.
Pricing the grain low enough to open up a larger market for
consumers is the main challenge.
“The fact that it has the potential to be profitable as opposed to
some other alternative crops, that was intriguing too,” Mueller
added. “Because at the end of the day, ideas are great, but you need
to make money if you want to do this again next year.”
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