Forever Green |

Pennycress matures in early spring, allowing farmers to plant a double or relay crop.

Photos by Kayla Altendorf

Camelina serves as an early-season food crop for beneficial insects while also producing a valuable oilseed crop.

Relay cropping part 1: winter oilseed planted into grain or corn stubble, fall growth of the oilseed crop, interplanting soybean in spring.

Relay cropping part 2: winter oilseed grows up and matures, harvest in mid-June, interplanted soybeans grow through oilseed stubble.

Forever Green Crops

U of MN researchers are working on a wide variety of perennial grains, oilseed crops, winter annual cover crops, forages, woody perennials, and native prairie species.

Working together we can enhance and develop new agricultural systems that will improve natural resources and provide new economic opportunities. Our team consists of experts in the areas of genomics, breeding, agronomics and commercialization.

The Forever Green Initiative is a University of Minnesota and USDA Agriculture Research Service (ARS) program to develop new crops and high-efficiency cropping systems. READ MORE