A vision and roadmap for the next generation of agricultural systems

The Benefits of Perennials
and Cover Cropping Systems
 

 

 

 

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Perennial crops offer new and expanded opportunities for farmers to counteract the inherent problems of annuals in a variety of ways. These include reducing costly inputs such as petroleum-based fertilizers, reducing soil and fertility losses, spreading economic risks, and by increasing the biodiversity of their farms. Additionally, perennial crops provide multiple benefits to society and the environment in the form of removing greenhouse gases from the air, providing wildlife with better habitat, and improving the water quality of rivers, lakes and the Gulf of Mexico.

For example, perennial crops can reduce N losses in runoff and leaching by 95% as compared to annual crops and, because they require fewer inputs and store more soil carbon, they result in net negative global warming potentials (GWPs) of -20 to -1100 kg CO2 equivalent per hectare—studies of annual crops in the region indicate their production results in positive GWPs(1,2). Such attributes offer greater resilience and adaptability in the face of global climate change and are important components of climate change mitigation. Cover crops used in annual cropping systems, by providing continuous living cover, produce some of these benefits as well.

Consumer interest and supply-side improvements have both driven the expansion of market potential for existing perennial systems. Recent technological innovations in plant breeding and post-harvest processing have expanded the potential for developing new perennial crops for food and biomaterials and using existing crops for new bioproducts. GLBW takes advantage of these opportunities by including a range of existing and emerging perennial crops for a wide range of existing and emerging markets.

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1 Randall, G.W., Mulla, D. 2001. “Nitrate Nitrogen in Surface Waters as Influenced by Climatic Conditions and Agricultural Practices.” Journal of Environmental Quality. 30: 337-344.

2 Robertson, G.P., Paul, E., Harwood, R. 2000. “Greenhouse Gases in Intensive Agriculture: Contributions of Individual Gases to the Radiative Forcing of the Atmosphere.” Science 289: 1922-1925.