The Land Institute

When you think of perennial crops, you may think of fruit or nut trees, not plants like wheat or rice, which are traditionally planted every year. An organization called The Land Institute, based in Salina, Kansas is hoping to change that. They have been at work developing perennial grain and legume crops.
 
You may wonder why? Perennial crops have many advantages. They have economic and environmental benefits by requiring less, or no, pesticides and fertilizers, and they can reduce carbon pollution, prevent erosion of the soil and, like trees, hold carbon in the soil.
 
In my conversation with Tammy Kimbler of The Land Institute, she explains their paradigm-changing research, and tell us what perennial grains and oilseeds are already available.
 


 All Images are covered by a Creative Commons license (CC-BY-NC-ND) and are © The Land Institute. 

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Tammy Kimbler

Chief Communications Officer,
The Land Institute

Tammy Kimbler (she/her) serves as the Chief Communications Officer of The Land Institute, an independent 501c3 non-profit research organization developing diverse, perennial grain crops and agriculture. A Californian from long line of farmers and ranchers, Kimbler spent her early career in Hollywood as a primetime television brand manager. She moved to Minnesota in 2001 to work with the state’s Fortune 100 companies in advertising and marketing. Before joining The Land Institute, Kimbler worked at General Mills as a Senior Marketing Communications Planner for Mission, helping brands nourish communities and regenerate agriculture. She also served as an Assistant Marketing Communications Manager for Cascadian Farm Organic, launching the first breakfast cereal made with Kernza® perennial grain and raising awareness of the positive impact of climate-smart ingredients. When she’s not standing in a perennial grain field or drinking a Kernza beer, Kimbler tends a flock of backyard chickens and a historic community victory garden plot in Minneapolis. She eats well and loves to feed others as often as possible.

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