Jerry Glover

Who knew a farm field could be so exciting? What if it holds the key to saving biodiversity, polluted ecosystems, and starving people? What if, in fact, it all comes down to a new grain of wheat?

Agroecologist Jerry Glover is working on it, and he claims the future starts with the past. Before agriculture, natural plant communities ruled the earth and kept ecosystems in perfect balance. How? Those plants were perennials, alive year-round and incredibly efficient at regulating processes like nutrient cycling and water management that protect ecosystem health. Their roots stretch deep below ground, controlling erosion and improving soil quality. Perennial plants are uniquely equipped to efficiently capture and use sunlight, nutrients, and water to nourish large landscapes.

Then everything changed. Humans harnessed vast swaths of the planet, replacing natural grasses with plants that take much more than they give to crucial natural systemsbillions of acres of annual crops. According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment survey, agriculture is now the number one man-made threat to global biodiversity and ecosystem function. Its time, says Glover, to put natural plant communities back in charge of the landscape.

Glover is part of a research team developing perennial crops that could revolutionize agriculture and solve problems far beyond farm fields. They focus on grains because thats what almost 70 percent of the worlds agricultural land grows. These crops, primarily wheat, rice, and maize, provide more than 70 percent of human calories.

The Land Institute in Kansas, where Glover works, partners with plant breeders and agricultural scientists around the world to develop prototypes they hope will become viable perennial crops. It wont happen overnight. The process involves meticulous genetic detective work, breeding and crossbreeding seeds to select characteristics that will ultimately make a top crop. Glover estimates it will be 10 to 20 years before the first perennial wheatgrass, sorghum, and rice are ready for widespread production.

Perennial crops could also boost prospects for farmers in the developed world, since much of their gross income is spent on the seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides needed for annual crops. Perennial crops would offer a way to cut those expensive inputs and plow more profit back to farm families and communities.