Episode 28: The Land Institute Tim Crews PhD - How Do Perennial Crops Benefit Land and Food Systems?

Tim Crews, PhD, is the Chief Scientist and Director of the International Initiative at The Land Institute. Tim is at The Land Institute because, in his words, “the work is the most focused and far-reaching of any organization I know. It promises to transform agriculture from being an ecological liability to an asset.” Tim first visited The Land Institute in 1981 after reading New Roots for Agriculture as an undergraduate majoring in agroecology at the University of California-Santa Cruz. Over the next three decades, he pursued a doctorate degree at Cornell, carried out a post-doc fellowship at Stanford, and developed an agroecology program at Prescott College in Northern Arizona. But all along, he continued to track the work of The Land Institute and, in 2000, began to collaborate directly. In 2012, Tim joined the staff as director of research and an ecologist. He helps facilitate and coordinate the research efforts of his colleagues and conducts work on the ecosystem functions performed by soils. The Land Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research organization based in Salina, Kansas, that was founded in 1976. The Land Institute co-leads the global movement for perennial, diverse, truly regenerative agriculture at scale. Our work, led by a team of plant breeders and ecologists in multiple partnerships worldwide, is focused on developing perennial grains, pulses, and oilseed-bearing plants to be grown in ecologically intensified, diverse crop mixtures known as perennial polycultures. The Land Institute’s goal is to create an agriculture system that mimics natural systems to produce ample food and reduce or eliminate the negative impacts of agriculture. Through transdisciplinary research and collaborations, The Land Institute builds learning communities to help society cross the threshold into diverse, perennial grain agriculture. TOPICS EXPLORED 0:00 – 1:54 – Introduction 1:54 – 3:38 – What is The Land Institute and what type of work does it do? 3:38 – 6:04 – How did you become interested in sustainable agriculture? 6:04 – 7:26 – What types of research efforts do you lead at The Land Institute? 7:26 – 11:02 – What are some of the greatest challenges related to achieving sustainable agriculture systems? 11:02 – 15:39 – What are perennial crops and why are they important? 15:39 – 22:32 – What are some of the main perennial crops you study and how can they be incorporated into sustainable agriculture systems? 22:32 – 29:04 – How do you do this plant breeding and how does that differ from Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)? 29:04 – 30:41 – What is the Global Inventory Project? 30:41 – 31:48 – What is ecological intensification? 31:48 – 33:09 – What is perennial polyculture? 33:09 – 37:20 – How do perennial crops improve soil health? 37:20 – 41:05 – How does soil health relate to climate? 41:28 – 44:55 – How are perennial crops being incorporated into foods? 44:55 – 48:22 – What do you think the future of perennial crops and how people use them will entail? 48:22 – 50:04 – What do you think are the most important things for society to do to shift towards sustainable agriculture systems? 50:04 – 51:50 – Things to share and wrap up THE LAND INSTITUTE INFORMATION https://landinstitute.org/ RESOURCES Ecological Intensification and Perennial Polyculture: https://landinstitute.org/our-work/ecological-intensification/ Perennial Grain Crops: https://landinstitute.org/our-work/perennial-crops/ Perennial Percent: https://kernza.org/perennial-percent/ The Global Inventory Project: https://landinstitute.org/our-work/new-roots-international/global-inventory-project/ The Land Institute’s International Initiative: https://landinstitute.org/our-work/new-roots-international/ Research and Scientific Publications: https://landinstitute.org/learn/research-and-scientific-publications/ FOOD FOR YOU AND THE PLANET PODCAST INFORMATION Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/food-for-you-and-the-planet/id1739416396 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7pkAIuXxl9dzD48b7qMOL1 RSS: https://feeds.libsyn.com/506343/rss Podcast Instagram: @foodforyouandtheplanet TAGS Food Environment Health Podcast Sustainability Agriculture Soil Health Soil Carbon Soil Carbon Sequestration Regenerative Agriculture Regenerative Farming Kernza Perennial Crops Perennial Grain Crops Perennial Percent The Land Institute