In 2001, Land Institute in Kansas formally began domesticating Kernza, over two decades later perennial grain was cultivated on more than 3,500 acres of land, emerging famers' go to solution for extreme weather

Farmers often look for new ways to protect their crops and their bottom line against the extreme weather events. A number of farmers in the U.S. 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.

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.

Perennial Grains


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.

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.

Challenges before Perennial Grains

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.