Restorative agriculture?

There's an interesting article today in the Star Tribune about how kernza is reducing nitrate levels in some test plots. This adds to the already identified benefits of growing kernza. We've been using kernza flour in our sourdough baking and really like the nutty flavor it contributes.

kernza whole grain

Photo by J. Harrington

Although we've been reading, thanks to the Better Half, Mark Bittman's Animal, Vegetable, Junk, it's only recently that we reached the sections in which  he talks about the loss of nutrients in wheat as it gets processed more and more, only to later have artificial nutrients added back into the flour.

There are several Minnesota-based organizations involved as research partners with The Land Institute, developers of kernza, including Agricultural Utilization Research Institution (AURI), University of Minnesota Forever Green Initiative, and Green Lands Blue Waters. It looks as though it's time to do some catching up on who's doing what with kernza, maybe on the next rainy day. It does feel good to be part of this whole effort to improve agriculture and ameliorate climate disruption. If you're interested in trying some kernza flour or whole grains, check Perennial Pantry.

The Flower-Fed Buffaloes

By Vachel Lindsay

The flower-fed buffaloes of the spring 

In the days of long ago,

Ranged where the locomotives sing

And the prairie flowers lie low:—

The tossing, blooming, perfumed grass

Is swept away by the wheat,

Wheels and wheels and wheels spin by

In the spring that still is sweet.

But the flower-fed buffaloes of the spring

Left us, long ago.

They gore no more, they bellow no more,

They trundle around the hills no more:—

With the Blackfeet, lying low,

With the Pawnees, lying low,

Lying low.

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