It’s a grain that could change the game. It regrows year after year – unlike crops like wheat, which must be replanted annually. It’s drought-resistant, with roots extending 10 feet or more, and it sequesters carbon in the soil. It requires less water and tractor use, and does not rely on synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
It’s called Kernza. Developed over the past 20 years by the Land Institute in Kansas, the perennial grain has become one focus of the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute in East Troy, where it’s been grown since 2020 on a demonstration basis as part of the institute’s mission to scale up “resilient agriculture.”
Kernza, a whole grain, is high in protein and antioxidants and has eight times the dietary fiber of traditional wheat. Fields Institute staffer Nicole Tautges, who began studying Kernza as a post-doctoral student, describes its distinctive flavor as having nutty or cinnamon-like notes. “It is easy to incorporate in baked goods, either alone or with another flour,” she says. Institute staff envision Wisconsin-grown Kernza used by local businesses to make bread, cereal, distilled spirits and other grain-centered food, and it sells it on its website for curious home bakers.
Another possible use of the grain is in beer. Last year, Milwaukee’s Lakefront Brewery launched a lager called Radical Root with Kernza constituting about a third of its grain. Owner Russ Klisch plans to keep it on tap at the Beer Hall going forward: “It has a good flavor and has been very well received.”
