If farmers are adding strip tillage, cover crops, or perennial crops to their operations, they might be able to receive a carbon credit payment per acre, too.
“When you incorporate practices that leave more carbon in your field, and good organic matter, your field can better capture the rainfall, be able to move the water into the soil, that helps the farmer to be able to get into the field quickly after a rainfall event.
“They put it all on the scale of ‘How does it compare to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for holding down heat?’ Carbon dioxide is 1, and if you look at methane it is about 25 carbon dioxide equivalents.
Yet, when it comes to carbon credits, the more carbon already in your soil, the more difficult it is to see a significant change.
Or they buy offsets—paying someone to restore a forest or to adopt cropping practices that increase carbon in the soil.
For most farmers and landowners, the primary goal of adopting new techniques is to improve the land and soil health.
“Cover crops and good soil structure can help mitigate the effects of very wet years.
Discover 2-days of cutting-edge ideas, techniques and strategies in Coralville, Iowa., July 28-29.