This is the fourth and final article in a series highlighting the projects of Minnesota Farmers Union Foundation’s Cooperatives for Climate pilot grant recipients.   

As climate change continues to impact agriculture across the state, there’s opportunity for cooperatives to meet the need for meaningful, farmer-centered solutions. Farmer-owned cooperatives reduce costs of production, maintain a reliable source of inputs, effectively market and process farm products, improve livelihoods and help strengthen rural communities.    

Cooperatives for Climate is a Minnesota Farmers Union Foundation grant program that funds farmer cooperatives in developing solutions for climate resilience. These grants support MFU members who have, or are in the process of, organizing themselves into cooperatives that respond to climate-related challenges and opportunities.     

The grants provide support for technical assistance and business development services. This support includes a wide range of services, including feasibility study, business plans, market assessments, establishing governance documents, and carbon and greenhouse gas inventory or assessment.    

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Perennial Promise Growers Cooperative, incorporated in 2021, represents more than 30 farmer members throughout eight states (Minnesota, Nebraska, Montana, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota, Iowa and Wyoming) and is a part of the first cohort of Cooperatives for Climate grant recipients awarded in the summer of 2023.    

Perennial Promise Growers Cooperative (PPGC) provides collective marketing and technical support to a network of farmers that grow Kernza, a climate-smart perennial grain that is harvested from intermediate wheatgrass. Technical service projects include creating a set of comprehensive board policies to govern the co-op, an updated business plan to address financial requirements for management and a roadmap addressing possible expansion to a second crop. 

PPGC was created as a vehicle to commercialize Continuous Living Cover (CLC) crops resulting from the Forever Green program of the University of Minnesota, with an initial focus on Kernza. Kernza is now the first commercially available perennial grain. It is most often used as a blended ingredient in flour, tortillas, crackers, puffed snacks, cereals and beer. PPGC is dedicated to helping farmers generate income by cultivating CLC crops, through finding markets for Kernza grain and ecosystem services. 

CLC crops deliver substantial ecosystem services by minimizing soil disturbance, which reduces soil carbon oxidation. These crops also enhance water infiltration, prevent runoff, and capture excess soil nitrogen. As a perennial crop, Kernza provides living cover over 2-3 seasons, sequestering carbon in extensive root systems.  

In addition to working with Cooperative Development Services (CDS) on a new business plan to attract new members and capital, PPCC’s board has been working with Leslie Watson, a local co-op governance consultant affiliated with Columinate, to provide governance training and policy development support.  

The PPGC board brought their insights to the Annual Meeting in January 2024, where they engaged members in strategic discussions about the future direction of the cooperative. The PPGC board and membership is optimistic that the technical assistance and business development support provided by this grant will enable them to capitalize on other funding opportunities.  

Many cooperative members are engaged in educating the public and promoting the adoption of perennial crops. Founding farmer Carmen Fernholz, of A Frame Organic Farm in Lac qui Parle County, and Anne Schwagerl, of Prairie Point Farm in Brown County, are actively involved in media interviews and speaking engagements.  

Explore PPGC’s newly launched website at www.perennialpromise.com to discover the history of Kernza, the ecological benefits of Kernza, its use in organic production, and the farmer’s experience with production through a series of informative videos.  

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Questions with Ben Penner, Project Manager for PPGC and owner/operator of Ben Penner Farms in southcentral Minnesota. These responses have been shortened for length and clarity. 

Why a cooperative model?  

Ben: It is a democratic model that also provides value to the individual grower and the community. No other model can do that. We’ve taken on a big project – environmental stewardship takes collaborative effort and is a system-wide challenge. The cooperative model puts growers in a strong and empowered position.  

What have the challenges been thus far? 

Ben: How can the Kernza enterprise work together more, and understanding Carbon Intensity scores and how they fit in with CLC crops. 

What will success look like for the cooperative? 

Ben: Success will look like selling out our current inventory and having a direct path to scaling the supply of Kernza with the projected demand. This is a very critical couple of years for PPGC.