On July 22, Program Manager Brad Gordon hosted a field discussion about Kernza in St. Peter.  Great River Greening saw impressive turnout on this hot summer evening.

Attendees ranged from producers, processors, vendors, landowners, community members, agency staff, local media, and University of Minnesota Forever Green staff.

Everybody enjoyed samples of bread made with Kernza flour from River Rock Bakery in St. Peter, and samples of an American Lager brewed with Kernza grain by LocAle brewery.

Participants also were able to get a view of a root trench that was dug to show how deep the roots of Kernza have grown in the past two years since initial seeding.

From Brad:

“The impressive turnout is a testament to the strong desire among people in Minnesota to see other crop options in our rotations and great-tasting crops that are great for our environment, especially water quality. We had 30 RSVPs and yet twice as many showed up!

Look for more Kernza events in the Seven Mile Creek and Rogers Creek watersheds in the coming months.

A lot of credit goes to Ben Penner, our subcontractor and local farmer, and Dan Coffman, the grower who hosted on his field. They're at the forefront of this movement and are really fun to work with.”