The MDA received $4.7 million of Clean Water Funds to support the Forever Green Initiative at the University of Minnesota for fiscal years 2024-2025. Twenty-five research projects which focus on incorporating perennial and winter annual crops into existing agricultural practices were selected through a request for proposal process administered by the University. The MDA oversees the distribution of funds and coordinates reporting on progress results and outcomes.
The 25 projects selected for funding are listed below.
| Project Title | Recipient (University of Minnesota) |
$$ | Project Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enhancement of oilseed perennial flax breeding: Development of non-shattering, highly fertile lines to increase seed yield | Neil Anderson | $300,000 | Active |
| Genomics-assisted breeding of intermediate wheatgrass (Kernza®) to accelerate genetic gain and cultivar development | Prabin Bajgain | $299,933 | Active |
| Development and testing of high-yielding perennial cereal rye varieties adapted to MN environments | Prabin Bajgain | $74,944 | Active |
| Integrating genomic and field-based approaches to maximize fertility and continue the development of a perennial sunflower | Yaniv Brandvain | $145,760 | Active |
| High-throughput phenotyping and genomics for hazelnut | Lois Braun | $299,994 | Active |
| Hairy vetch cover crop breeding and selection | Nancy Jo Ehlke | $74,274 | Active |
| Advancing Minnesota peas; selection for consistency in winter hardiness and protein content | Steven Mulkey | $150,000 | Active |
| Breeding camelina for winter hardiness, increased yield and seed size from progeny of spring x winter parents | Matthew Ott | $299,992 | Active |
| Development of winter durum germplasm for Minnesota | Ahmad Sallam | $75,000 | Active |
| Breeding silflower for perennial agriculture in Minnesota | Kevin Smith | $150,000 | Active |
| Implementing marker-based breeding of winter barley | Kevin Smith | $149,987 | Active |
| Germplasm improvement of hard fescue for intercropped grass seed production systems in northern Minnesota | Eric Watkins | $74,663 | Active |
| Pioneering sustainable agriculture with alfalfa for human consumption | Zhanyou Xu | $75,000 | Active |
| Field pennycress breeding program support | Julia Zhang | $300,000 | Active |
| Developing protocols for the commercial production of intermediate wheatgrass (IWG)-Peas starch blended expanded extrudates and meat analogues from IWG protein concentrate | George Annor | $202,284 | Active |
| Characterization of pennycress host status of the soybean cyst nematode | Senyu Chen | $200,000 | Active |
| A cohesive strategy for evaluating ecosystem benefits for Forever Green crops | Jessica Gutknecht | $273,504 | Active |
| Feeding the future: Maximizing the value of alfalfa protein by controlling endogenous protease activity and evaluating the quality of all streams from protein extraction | Deborah "Jo" Hueschele | $339,625 | Active |
| A systemic assessment of adopting Kernza in Minnesota’s Drinking Water Supply Management Areas through a knowledge-guided machine learning approach | Zhenong Jin | $349,686 | Active |
| Do herbicides used in early harvested cropping systems influence fall-planted oilseed crop establishment and growth? | Gregg Johnson | $100,000 | Active |
| Advancing Kernza, winter barley, winter pea, and silflower through agronomic studies on establishment and high-throughput phenotyping for crop quality | Jacob Jungers | $338,260 | Active |
| Developing silflower for production systems in Minnesota | Kevin Smith | $273,925 | Active |
| Greenhouse studies of enhanced nitrogen-fixing endophyte bacteria with pennycress | Brett Barney | $50,000 | Active |
| Determining the potential of perennial chickpea and winter lentil in the Upper Midwest | Gary Muehlbauer | $49,347 | Active |
| The effect of regular consumption of Intermediate wheatgrass-based products on measures of gut health | Levi Teigen | $48,709 | Active |
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