Dual-purpose Kernza grabs attention

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Jeremie Favre, a graduate student in the agronomy department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, discusses Kernza grain and forage yields.

Lynn Grooms/Agri-View

Valentin Picasso, assistant professor of agronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, talks with attendees at a field day at UW's Agricultural Research Station in Lancaster, Wisconsin. Picasso is evaluating the impact of grazing timing on the grain yield, forage yield and forage quality of Kernza, a crop that's new to the upper Midwest.

Lynn Grooms/Agri-View

Plant breeders aim to produce Kernza with seed size that is 50 percent of annual bread-wheat-seed size.

Lynn Grooms/Agri-View

Kernza field at Lancaster Agricultural Research Station

Ten acres of Kernza were planted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Agricultural Research Station in Lancaster, Wisconsin. The crop will soon be harvested, with data collected on grain yields.

Lynn Grooms/Agri-View

Red clover has been interseeded into a Kernza field as a cover crop and additional forage for grazing.

Lynn Grooms/Agri-View

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Lynn Grooms 608-437-2827

A perennial grain and forage crop called Kernza – a registered trademark – is gaining the attention of plant breeders and farmers alike. At the “Kernza, Cover Crops and Conservation Field Day,” held July 19 at the University of Wisconsin’s Agricultural Research Station in Lancaster, Wisconsin, farmers learned more about the crop. UW-Madison researchers are evaluating Kernza, which was planted at the Lancaster research station in 2016.

Lynn Grooms writes about the diversity of agriculture, including the industry’s newest ideas, research and technologies, as a staff reporter for Agri-View based in Wisconsin. Email lgrooms@madison.com to contact her.