Companies offering payments to farmers for sequestering carbon have been at it for a few years now. What lessons are being learned?
"There are opportunities, whether you are a farmer or a rancher, to add practices that will sequester carbon and help improve your soils at the same time," says John Pullis, senior agronomist and soil sampling lead for Agoro Carbon, based in east-central Michigan. Here is an exclusive interview with Pullis.
What options do farmers have for earning payments for carbon sequestration today? If they are not doing so already, they can introduce cover crops. Second, if they are not in no-till, one option is implementing a no-till or reduced-tillage system. Some people tell us they no-till, but they still make one pass before planting. Cutting out that pass counts as taking a step toward sequestering carbon.
What if someone is already no-tilling and using cover crops? Should they still talk to you? Yes, we would love to have a conversation. There are still things they could do. For example, if they aren't including legumes in their cover crop mix, shifting to include legumes increases carbon sequestration.
How could ranchers or people with only livestock qualify? There are three options: First, they could add legumes into their pastures. Second, applying a small amount of fertilizer to stimulate growth of forages is an approved practice. Finally, increasing intensity of grazing in a rotational grazing system is a positive step forward.
When does someone who signs into a carbon marketing program get paid? Our contracts are for 10 years. One option allows producers to receive a portion of their payment up front. Or, they can wait and get paid after five years, and again after 10 years. Payments are somewhat higher if they wait.
What is significant about five- and 10-year periods? We sample soils at the beginning, after five years and after 10 years. We pull 12-inch cores instead of 7- or 8-inch cores as in soil fertility sampling programs, and we sample by soil characteristics, not on grids. If we're sampling a 20-acre field with three soil types, we will likely pull three composite samples. However, many more factors go into determining sampling patterns than in soil fertility sampling. Sampling points are predetermined at random.
What tests are performed on the soil? We are measuring soil organic carbon, or SOC. We also measure bulk density of the soil. Many practices could impact soil structure, and bulk density helps us assess possible changes. Payments are made based upon increases in the amount of carbon sequestered.
Are you seeing progress on farms already in the program? We will be coming up on sampling times for initial contracts soon. However, we have agronomists spread throughout the country working with farmers, and they report anecdotally that farmers are seeing changes, such as in how fast a large rain infiltrates into the soil.
Where can farmers and ranchers get more information? Visit agorocarbonalliance.com. There is also a carbon calculator on the website that can provide an idea of what kind of payments to expect, based on a variety of scenarios.
