Carbon Farming

Man Lok Chow, Megan Colley, Queenaly Tran

ESM 321
Overview
● What is carbon farming
○ Agricultural method to sequestering atmospheric
carbon into soil and organic matters
● Background
○ 24% of global and 9% of US carbon emission are
agriculture and forestry related
● Implementation
○ Organic Farming, Regenerative agriculture,
permaculture, food production

Agriculture and forestry practices account for at least 24 percent of global

carbon emissions and 9 percent of U.S. carbon emissions. Under current land
management practices, agriculture remains one of the leading contributors to
global carbon emissions. However, it is the only economic sector with the
potential to transform itself from a net carbon emitter to a net sink using
practices broadly classified as “carbon farming”. These practices can help
remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and store it for long periods of
time in soil, microorganisms, and plant matter. Climate scientists estimate that
200 billion tons of carbon dioxide would need to be removed from the
atmosphere to halt and begin to reverse the effects of climate change. The
world’s agricultural soils can meet this challenge if change the way we grow
food.
Carbon farming is a broad set of agricultural practices across a variety of farm
types that result in increased storage of atmospheric carbon in the soil. Many
of these practices are common in organic farming, regenerative agriculture,
permaculture, and other approaches to food production. When plants
photosynthesize, they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store
it. When they die, this carbon is either released back into the atmosphere or it
is stored for long periods of time in the soil. Many conventional agriculture
practices result in the release of carbon, while practices classified under
carbon farming aim to do the opposite.
Video
History
● 2011, Cap-and-Trade Program, Australia
○ Carbon emission permits
● 2014, Conservation Tillage, Canada
○ 75%of Canadian Prairies, 50% no till
● 2015, Paris Climate Talks, Global
○ 25 countries pledged to the CF practice
● 2015, Carbon-credit Exchange, California
○ RCDs support local partnership to run CF
● 2016, Chevrolet and USDA
○ Purchase 40000 C-credit on 11000 no-till acres
● 2017, Legislation passed, multi-States
○ Improving soil health and carbon farming

In 2011 Australia started a cap-and-trade program. Farmers who sequester carbon can
sell carbon credits to companies in need of carbon offsets. The country's Direct Action
Plan states "The single largest opportunity for CO
2 emissions reduction in Australia is through bio-sequestration in general, and in
particular, the replenishment of our soil carbons." In studies of test plots over 20 years
showed increased microbial activity when farmers incorporated organic matter or reduced
tillage. Soil carbon levels from 1990–2006 declined by 30% on average under continuous
cropping. Incorporating organic matter alone was not enough to build soil carbon.
Nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur had to be added as well to do so. By 2014 more than
75% of Canadian Prairies' cropland had adopted "conservation tillage" and more than
50% had adopted no till. Twenty-five countries pledged to adopt the practice at the
December 2015 Paris climate talks.[2] In California multiple Resource Conservation
Districts (RCDs) support local partnerships to develop and implement carbon farming, In
2015 the agency that administers California's carbon-credit exchange began granting
credits to farmers who compost grazing lands. In 2016 Chevrolet partnered with the US
Department of Agriculture (USDA) to purchase 40,000 carbon credits from ranchers on
11,000 no-till acres. The transaction equates to removing 5,000 cars from the road and
was the largest to date in the US. In 2017 multiple US states passed legislation in support
of carbon farming and soil health.
● California appropriated $7.5 million as part of its Healthy Soils Program. The
objective is to demonstrate that "specific management practices sequester
carbon, improve soil health and reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases." The
 ● program includes mulching, cover crops, composting, hedgerows and buffer
strips.[9] Nearly half of California counties have farmers who are working on
carbon-farming.[3]
● Maryland's Healthy Soils Program supports research, education and technical
assistance.[9]
● Massachusetts funds education and training to support agriculture that
regenerates soil health.[9]
● Hawaii created the Carbon Farming Task Force to develop incentives to
increase soil carbon content.[9] A 250-acre demonstration project attempted to
produce biofuels from the pongamia tree. Pongamia adds nitrogen to the soil.
Similarly, one ranch husbands 2,000 head of cattle on 4,000 acres, using
rotational grazing to build soil, store carbon, restore hydrologic function and
reduce runoff.[10]

Other states are considering similar programs.[9]

History
● Largest international implementation
● Started in 2015, from France
● Statement:
○ We, governments, representatives of farmers
and agricultural sectors, international
organizations, scientific and technical
research institutes, local government
authorities, development banks, foundations,
private businesses and non-governmental
organizations confirm our will to work for the
transition towards productive, highly resilient
agriculture based on appropriate soil
management which is essential to soil health
as emphasized by the World Soil Charter.

The largest international effort to promote carbon farming is “four per 1,000”, led by
France. Its goal is to increase soil carbon by 0.4 percent per year through agricultural and
forestry changes

On December 12, 2015, 197 countries reached an international agreement to

address global warming. Governments that signed on to the Paris Climate
Accord committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at least
enough to limit average global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above
pre-industrial temperatures.

Under the Paris agreement, each country volunteers to: set its own goal for
reducing GHG emissions; detail how it will reach its goal; and monitor and
report on progress.

The Paris agreement, which places a heavy emphasis on the need to replace
fossil fuels with clean, renewable energy sources, doesn’t explicitly mention
agriculture’s role in increasing soil carbon. However so far, 36 of the 197
countries that have signed the Paris accord have also committed to increasing
the levels of carbon stored in soils by investing in and scaling up regenerative
agriculture and land-use practices.

Who can sign on to 4 per 1000?

The 4 per 1000 Initiative invites support from:
 ● Public/private funding bodies and foundations
● Civil society associations and NGOs
● Farmer organizations
● Agricultural and forestry groups
● Private companies
● Research organizations and training Institutes

What do I commit to when I sign on to 4 per 1000?

Broadly speaking, groups that sign on to the 4 per 1000 Initiative agree
to this:

We, governments, representatives of farmers and agricultural sectors,

international organizations, scientific and technical research institutes,
local government authorities, development banks, foundations, private
businesses and non-governmental organizations confirm our will to work
for the transition towards productive, highly resilient agriculture based on
appropriate soil management which is essential to soil health as
emphasized by the World Soil Charter.

After signing the initial documents, organizations may be contacted by

the Initiative and asked to provide more information about their interest in
the Initiative. They will also be invited to join the Initiative’s interactive
platform where they can connect with other 4 per 1000 partners.
Key ecosystems
Key ecological processes

Almost all of them!

So of course, we’re talking about carbon farming here, emphasis on the carbon. So
you’d think that the only nutrient cycle this process effects is the carbon cycle. It turns
out that once the carbon is in the soil from the added compost or different plants, it
can affect water retention rates, mineralization rates of nitrogen, phosphorus
adherence to soil, soil formation, etc. Carbon farming would affect almost all
processes that you could think of, pretty much.
As a simple example, here’s what the carbon cycle looks like. We’ve all seen this
before but with additional plants that can take up carbon more efficiently, this whole
cycle would be changed.
Major findings
● Up to 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide could be captured
● Using organic matter, shifting cultivation, using off seasons

The National Academy of Sciences estimated in a study last year that global farmland could
capture and store as much as 3 billion tons of additional carbon dioxide if farmers adopted a
number of improved practices, including adding organic matter like manure or compost,
shifting cultivation to favor crops that contribute more of their carbon to the soil, or using off
seasons to plant cover crops that will then break down.
Controversies
● Small scale
● Not enough research
● Difficult to make generalized global conclusions

There are still a lot of unknowns about how soil microbe ecosystems actually work and what
practices are most effective at capturing and storing carbon dioxide. What we most need right
now is a lot of field experiments in a lot of places exploring these things in greater detail.

The first and most important priority for minimizing the climate impact of agriculture is to
stop clearing more land for it

With the limited soil sequestration knowledge we have, it’s difficult to make generalized
global conclusions about carbon farming.
Management & Policy
● Stakeholders = everyone
○ Minorities, developing countries, and/or POC are already being affected by climate change

In this case, stakeholders include everyone because climate change is a worldwide

issue. Although, those who contribute the least to climate change are at higher risk of
the affects important to understand as we move forward.
Management & Policy - Oregon
● Oregon is an influential state
○ Carbon farming has the potential or offset all of Oregon’s carbon emissions

To start on a local scale, Oregon has a lot of land that is used agriculture and forestry
but this is our lowest GHG emission sector. Transportation and residential/commercial
are our top emitters. But we are at the forefront of many policy initiatives that may be
controversial or new. We can adopt new policies that practice carbon farming
methods as carbon farming has the potential to offset our entire states carbon
emissions. But we should try our best to reduce our carbon footprint in other ways as
well.
Management and Policy - U.S.
● USDA wants to reduce environmental footprint by half by 2050
● New York - Bill A3281: farmers who use carbon farming methods will receive
tax credits, grants, and other programs
● California - $7.5 million alloted from Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to
promote management practices (Alistar, 2018)
○ Carbon sequestration, improve soil health, reduce atmospheric GHG
○ Provides small grants for farmers who promise to store more carbon
● Hawaii - Carbon task force: grassroots approaches and carbon farming
education for farmers
● Massachusetts - Indigo Agriculture startup gives $15 per metric ton of CO2
sequestered

In the US, the USDA wants to reduce our environmental by half by 2050. This
includes carbon emissions. There are some policies regarding carbon farming but
many are initiatives by locals. New York implemented a bill that gives tax credits to
farmers that use carbon farming methods. California has 7.5 million dollars for GHG
reduction. Farmers who store more carbon receive small grants. Hawaii and
Massachusetts are more localized and focus on community involvement. Hawaii has
a carbon task force that educates farmers on carbon farming methods and
Massachusetts has an organization, indigo ag, that gives farmers $15 per metric ton
of co2 sequestered.
In the Media
● Portrayed as a “new innovative idea”
○ Westerners “bringing” carbon farming
techniques to developing countries
● Land management is one of the largest
contributors to climate change (Carbon
Cycle Inst., 2020)
○ Common agricultural practices release CO2
into the atmosphere
● Recent studies are reiterating
Indigenous and traditional farming
methods
Saguna Rice Technique, Shekhar Bhadsavale, India.
○ Using compost, no-till, crop rotation, Regeneration International.
inter-cropping, water harvesting
○ Working with the land, not against it

The idea of carbon farming is portrayed as a “new innovative idea” that we should
start implementing. Indigenous and POC farmers have been practicing sustainable
farming for time immemorial. Since western agriculture was brought upon other
countries and is now the modern way, we realize how unsustainable it is.
Management of these lands contribute to climate change by releasing carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere through tilling, overgrazing, operating machinery, and using fossil
fuel based fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. Studies on agriculture, carbon
sequestration, and healthy soil formation are emphasizing what indigenous and
traditional farmers have been doing for a long time. Methods such as no-till, crop
rotations, inter cropping, water harvesting, and other sustainable practices are done
by indigenous and traditional farmers. We see this issue of traditional knowledge no
being recognized in many other areas of knowledge but esp science.
Highlight: Shekhar Bhadsavale, a farmer himself, created an project that helps local
farmers in India practice a no-till method that yields more crops and sequester more
carbon in the soil. 1 acre of 1% increase of soil organic carbon=18 tonnes of carbon
stored
New language of an old thing
Next Steps
● Better land management policies
○ Carbon farming futures program - USDA
● Educate farmers
● Empower local organizations
○ Community gardens, farmers markets, sustainable brands
● Individually…
○ Compost
○ Grow native plants
○ Decolonize farming

There are promises to mitigate and decrease carbon emissions but no solid plans of
how they will achieve this through agriculture. Getting farmers to practice sustainable
methods such as inter cropping, crop rotation, multi story cropping, no-till, and other
methods will help sequester carbon. We can empower local organizations that are
already practicing these methods that need support like community garden, farmers
markets, and sustainable brands.
Individually, we can try these methods at home if we have the time and resources to
do so. Starting a compost bin (its a great time to start now!), growing native plants,
and educating ourselves on the history and traditional practices of farming.
 References
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Six, J., Frey, S.D., Thiet, R., and Batten, K.M. (2006). Bacterial and Fungal Contributions to Carbon Sequestration in Agroecosystem. Soil Science Society
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Chan, Gabrielle (2013). Carbon farming: it's a nice theory, but don't get your hopes up. The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/29/carbon-farming-its-a-nice-theory-but-dont-get-your-hopes-up

Barth, Brian (2016). Carbon Farming: Hope for a Hot Planet. Modern Farmer.
https://modernfarmer.com/2016/03/carbon-farming/

Awada, L.; Lindwall, C.W.; Sonntag, B. (March 2014). "The development and adoption of conservation tillage systems on the Canadian Prairies".
International Soil and Water Conservation Research. 2 (1): 47–65.

Regeneration International. “New Project in Carbon Farming Launched in India.” Regeneration International, Regeneration International
Https://Regenerationinternational.org/Wp-Content/Uploads/2018/10/RI-Logo-New.png, 9 May 2019,
regenerationinternational.org/2019/05/09/new-project-in-carbon-farming-launched-in-india/.

“Carbon Farming.” Carbon Cycle Institute, 2020, www.carboncycle.org/carbon-farming/.

 References
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