Grandson Andrew, the farmer around here, got his experimental crop of Kernza harvested early this week and is now baling the straw for use in the farrowing house.
Kernza is a perennial wheat bred from intermediate wheatgrass, which is used as a pasture grass on the northern high plains. And it looks as if the straw has a pretty heavy waxy coat over the somewhat green stem. We think it is dry enough though and the hard stem and its waxy coat should break down nicely in the bedding chopper that we use with the sows and litters.
The devil is in the marketing of course. As always, for any new crop the markets are thin and easily saturated. The grain is used as a wheat substitute in bread, but more in making other baked goods, such as waffles, pastries and the like. Beer is being brewed with it.
The farmer group has organized a co-operative to help with market development, including aggregation. It is a work in progress.
Kernza is a perennial, albeit a short term one, lasting three to five or six years. Andrew knew what the benefits for the soil health are when a perennial is planted instead of the annual, with its need for annual tillage and often a months long open season where the soil is exposed to the elements, allowing the carbon to be oxidized out of it. Grazing teaches the value of a good perennial plant.
Good farmers try to push toward what they know the soil needs. It is a risk, always a compromise with the ongoing need to make a profit. Farmers that do this kind of experimenting deserve credit for it. Few really know what the risk to the farm of failure is. But the farmer does, and sometimes goes ahead anyhow.
A nice agronomic side feature is that the Kernza is aggressive. It has a complex and large root system, which is wonderful for the critters that live in the soil. But it helps the Kernza out compete most other plants, once it is established. It pretty much drives out the weeds in the second and third year. This alone makes it useful in an organic rotation.
We are in the business now. Time will tell if it works out or not.
