(St. Louis Public Radio) Kernza could make agriculture more sustainable. It just needs a market to take off

On a recent weekday afternoon, dozens of people filled the cozy taproom at Blue Jay Brewing Company.  On tap that day was a fresh creation called New Roots. The American Lager was a hit, with many of the patrons going back to the bar for another glass.

Blue Jay’s owner and brewer, Jason Thompson, was also pleased with the result of this experimental beer, which he described as “earthy, almost nutty,” with a “lingering honey-like sweetness to it.”

Those flavors came from his choice to use a novel grain called Kernza for 25% of the 600 pounds of grain needed for the whole brew, he said. Many agricultural staples today, like corn, soy, wheat, barley and others, are planted into the ground each growing season. After harvest, the soil is left bare or farmers plant cover crops in those fields over the winter. Kernza, by contrast, stays in the ground for several years, and can produce multiple harvests in that time.

“Kernza has a very deep, persistent root system that stays in the ground for multiple years–the life of the plant,” said Allison Miller, an evolutionary biologist who studies Kernza at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. “It holds soil in place, helps build new soil, absorbs water, takes up nutrients, hosts a hugely diverse microbiome, and it also sequesters carbon.”

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