Why Carbon Credits Are The Next Opportunity For Farmers

Regenerative farming refers to practices focused on replenishing the soil’s nutrients and includes things like no-till cultivation, rotational cattle grazing, using less synthetic fertilizers and planting cover crops. In addition to making soil and crops healthier, the practices help to sequester CO2.

Lately, the movement has gained the support of major corporations like General Mills and PepsiCo, as well as the Biden administration. Now, a number of carbon markets such as Nori and Indigo Ag are springing up to encourage farmers to participate, but challenges remain.

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Will Carbon Credits Change Farming?

[aseriouslollygagger]

Whether or not the practice stores carbon, it is still beneficial for so many other reasons. You keep wind from eroding the top soil, keep moisture in the soil, add nutrients, give bees a place that is hospitable, helps control wildfires and creates a better micro biome. Seems like a win even though we can't quantify a carbon market.

[theCodyReeder]

1:15 “spray the cover crop off” wait so you are using herbicide? Yeah that seems sustainable.

[danielschmidt]

Agrivoltaics and regenerative agriculture are a perfect pair.

Solar arrays with sheep grazing should get some serious attention. Perrenial crops and agroforestry crops should get some serious attention. Chestnuts, hazelnuts, and other nuts can replace soy and corn for a source of oils, fats, and starches.

[ks]

SPRAYING the cover crop ruins the whole thing. Roundup isn’t safe.

[leftlane]

Allow cattle to free range the cover crops before your main crop and you’ll come to find a massive increase in carbon stored and the amount of rain not only sequestered but also held to feed the plants. 👌🏼 combining no till and free ranging cattle goats and sheep would make a huge difference.

[mr-paulinegraf]

Investing make up the top notch hemisphere of weath.That's the More reason one should save and invest to secure more profit an ensure success.

[Jo-kimj]

I've recently finished reading Louis Bromfield's "Pleasant Valley". He had it all pretty much figured out in the 1940s, when he went back to America to farm in his childhood valley and help restore beaten and broken land on Malabar Farm. Climate change wasn't a thing then, but he already had the foresight to know that monoculture, tillage, extractive farming was not the way and would lead to disaster. It is a truly uplifting book which every farmer would benefit from reading. I highly recommend it.

[theEt]

There is a difference between regenerative farming and organic regenerative farming. Both are better for the local environment than conventional farming

[daveriley]

1:14 "and then we'll spray the cover crop off. . . ." Something big got glossed over right there. Exactly what is being sprayed?

[loafandjug]

So they spray weed killer on the cover crop. Fail.

[samuelwilliams]

What if Bill Gates switches all his farmland to regenerative farming?

[briananderson]

They are on the right path. After some time, practice, and improvement, we need to collect the data from these guys and institute regenerative practices nationwide. No, no, worldwide!

[codniggh]

When those big companies get involved int regenerative farming is the moment that this practice will become corrupt and changed from its original form.

[wesleywatring]

You know this does way more then just helping the climate. It also helps the wildlife. Fields in the fall go from feast to famine in one day. The Deer, Turkey, Grouse, Quail, and many other wildlife have a long hard winter with hundreds of thousands acres of barren lifeless land after harvest. It's gotten even worse since the rise of round up ready crops as well because after the corn or beans are harvested there use to be at least the weeds undergrowth for them to forage on for the winter.

[rooteddwellings]

I am a sustainable agriculture major and it takes years for transforming traditional agriculture operations into sustainable agriculture.

[downbntout]

Why spray terminate a cover crop when you can crimp? 😖 Edit: crimp and plant in one pass

[karlwhalls]

“Then we’ll spray the cover crop off.”

[jasonhatfield]

Regenerative agriculture is a must. But, letting some land turn back into wilderness is also a must. There's no one magic bullet here. It's going to take a multi-faceted approach to solve climate change. I agree that it's ultimately up to consumer demand to change the way we do things.

[benjaminw]

Great work! We need to support more farmers like these!

[irinaherzon]

Prof Foley's commentary is excellent and highlights all problematic but also beneficial aspects. So-called regenerative agriculture is trying to sell itself for what it is not yet (possibly) able to deliver. The focus should be on long-term carbon STORAGE: nothing prevents farmers to sequester carbon in one decade and release it all in the next. What is 10 years for carbon dioxide, the half-life of which is 1000 years? What's worse it allows businesses to continue their emissions (since they bought the rights through carbon credits). There are more certain ways of reducing emissions quickly: curbing food waste and deforestation, cutting back on animal products, restoring native forests to where they belong, generally consuming less etc.