Beyond the Monocrop Paradigm
The dominant agricultural model on the Great Plains—vast fields of annual monocrops like wheat and corn—is a system under profound strain. It is highly dependent on external inputs of fertilizer and pesticides, vulnerable to drought, and a significant source of soil erosion and carbon emissions. The Institute's most prominent agricultural initiative seeks to fundamentally redesign this system from the ground up, drawing inspiration from the native prairie itself. The goal is to develop perennial polycultures: diverse mixtures of deep-rooted perennial plants that can be harvested for food, feed, fiber, and fuel. Unlike annuals, perennials live for many years, maintaining a living root system that continuously feeds soil biology, holds soil in place, and captures water far more efficiently. The polyculture aspect mimics natural ecosystems, where multiple species coexist, each filling a niche, leading to greater overall resilience against pests, disease, and weather extremes.
The Kernza® Breakthrough and Beyond
The Institute's work gained early recognition through its partnership in the development and promotion of Kernza®, a perennial grain developed from intermediate wheatgrass. Kernza's extensive root system, which can grow over ten feet deep, is a marvel of ecological engineering, offering impressive carbon sequestration and nitrate capture. However, the Institute's research goes far beyond a single species. Our test plots contain hundreds of combinations of perennial candidates: legumes like sainfoin for nitrogen fixation, oilseed plants like silphium, and a variety of deep-rooted forbs and grasses. The research is multi-faceted, assessing not just yield, but ecosystem services. Teams measure soil organic carbon increases, water infiltration rates, pollinator abundance, and bird populations within the polyculture plots compared to adjacent conventional fields. The economic modeling is equally critical, developing new supply chains and market structures for these novel crops, which may not fit the commodity trading system.
The social science wing of the project studies adoption barriers and incentives for farmers. Transitioning from a known, subsidized annual system to a novel perennial one is a massive leap of faith. The Institute runs a 'Prairie Protector' fellowship for early-adopter farmers, providing them with technical support, guaranteed minimum income during the establishment years, and a community of practice. This holistic approach—from plant genetics to consumer packaging—is essential for systemic change. The vision is a future where the prairie landscape is a mosaic of these perennial production systems, interspersed with restored native prairie corridors, creating a working landscape that produces economic value while regenerating ecological capital. It is a slow, meticulous process of co-evolution with the land, aiming to create an agriculture that can thrive in the climatic conditions of the next century, securing both food and ecosystem health for generations to come.
Technical Hurdles and Genetic Frontiers
The development of commercially viable perennial polycultures faces significant technical challenges. Perennial plants often allocate more energy to roots and survival than to seed production, leading to lower grain yields compared to highly bred annuals. Our plant genetics team is employing both traditional breeding and advanced genomic tools to improve yield, seed size, and threshing ability in perennial candidates. Another major focus is on domestication syndromes—selecting for traits like non-shattering seeds and synchronous ripening that made annual crops suitable for large-scale harvest. Furthermore, we are engineering novel harvesting and processing equipment capable of handling diverse seed sizes and maturation times within a single polyculture stand. The research is a grand collaboration between ecologists, geneticists, engineers, and farmers, all driven by the imperative to create a truly sustainable foundation for prairie livelihoods. The work is published openly, with germplasm shared globally, because the challenge of climate-resilient food systems is a planetary one. The South Dakota Institute of Prairie Futurology aims to position the Great Plains as a global leader in the next agricultural revolution.