{"id":1974638,"date":"2023-07-16T17:12:09","date_gmt":"2023-07-16T21:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/farm-fields-dont-just-feed-us-they-store-carbon-but-a-big-question-is-how-much\/"},"modified":"2023-07-16T17:19:38","modified_gmt":"2023-07-16T21:19:38","slug":"farm-fields-dont-just-feed-us-they-store-carbon-but-a-big-question-is-how-much","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/farm-fields-dont-just-feed-us-they-store-carbon-but-a-big-question-is-how-much\/","title":{"rendered":"Farm fields not only provide food but also serve as carbon storage. However, the amount of carbon stored remains a significant question."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">44<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffarm-fields-dont-just-feed-us-they-store-carbon-but-a-big-question-is-how-much%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1974638&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>DYSART, \u2063Iowa (AP) \u200d\u2014\u2062 Farmers Discover the Benefits\u200b of\u2064 Carbon Offsets \u2064and Soil\u2064 Carbon Storage<\/h2>\n<p>When\u200b Al Schafbuch\u2063 cut \u2063back \u2063on\u200c plowing his Iowa fields decades \u200cago and\u200d later \u2063began growing \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/secstate-blinken-on-bidens-climate-agenda-americans-that-relied-on-old-industries-will-be-hit-hard\/\" title=\"SecState Blinken On Biden\u2019s Climate Agenda: Americans \u2018That Relied On Old Industries Will Be Hit Hard\u2019\">cover crops<\/a>, he was out to save\u200d money on \u200cfertilizer and reduce erosion. He got those benefits and\u200c saw \u2062his soil change\u2064 for \u200cthe\u200d better, too:\u2062 dark, \u200bchunky, richly organic matter that \u200dhe\u2062 said feels like \u201cchocolate cake.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s\u200c one\u200b more big payoff that benefits \u200beveryone: \u2062tilling the \u200csoil less, and\u200b growing more\u2063 cover \u200bcrops, can\u2064 help farmers\u200c store more\u200b planet-warming\u200c carbon in fields.\u2063 More plants take in \u200dmore carbon \u200cdioxide, and soil microbes \u200bbreathe \u200dout \u200dless \u2063carbon \u200bwhen \u200bundisturbed. \u2063That \u200bcan \u200bmean\u200d money for participating farmers in the \u2062form of carbon offsets\u2063 \u2014 payments\u2063 that companies can make \u200dthat \u200bsupport carbon\u200b storage\u2063 in farms and, in theory, \u2063balance out their emissions\u2064 elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe more \u200dcarbon you \u2062store from the\u200d atmosphere with your crops, and the more \u200bcrops grown\u200d throughout \u2064the\u2063 year,\u2064 you \u2063offset \u2063some of your\u2062 waste, your\u200c wasted energy,\u201d \u200bsaid <strong>Shalamar Armstrong<\/strong>, an\u200c associate \u200dprofessor\u2063 of\u2064 agronomy \u200cat Purdue\u2062 University. \u201cBecause you\u2019ve stored \u200bcarbon that\u2063 would \u200dhave \u200dbeen \u200demitted \u2062(into) \u200bthe atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n \u2064   <\/p>\n<h3>Soil researcher Asmita\u2064 Gautam, right,\u200c prepares \u2064a soil sample for\u200d carbon\u200c content analysis \u2064while talking with Shalamar Armstrong, left, associate professor \u2063of\u200c agronomy, Thursday, July \u206413, 2023,\u200c at Purdue University\u200b in West Lafayette,\u2062 Ind. (AP\u2062 Photo\/Joshua A. \u200bBickel)<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\n \u200d \u2064 \u200d <\/p>\n<h3>Shalamar \u200bArmstrong,\u200d associate professor \u2064of agronomy at Purdue \u2064University, \u2064holds\u2064 a \u2064shovel full of soil,\u2064 Thursday,\u200d July \u206313, 2023, in \u200dFowler, Ind. (AP Photo\/Joshua\u2063 A. Bickel)<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It\u2019s \u2062an \u200barea getting more attention from lawmakers, researchers, \u200cand industry professionals. \u2063The\u200b U.S. \u2063Department\u200b of\u200b Agriculture\u200d this\u2063 week announced\u2064 a \u2064$300 \u2062million investment to monitor agricultural emissions,\u2063 including\u2062 by \u200dcreating\u2062 a research network to monitor carbon \u2064in \u2063soil.\u2062 And \u2063U.S.\u200b Sens. Tina Smith, \u2064D-Minn., \u2064and\u2064 Todd\u200b Young, \u200dR-Ind.,\u2064 introduced a \u200dbill that Smith\u2062 said would support\u200d the research\u2063 needed \u2064to \u201cproperly credit soil \u2062carbon storage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The \u200bUSDA announcement and \u2064the legislation are both \u2062aimed at the difficult\u2062 question\u2063 of\u200b how \u200dto\u2064 quantify <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/al-gore-still-preaching-climate-change-need-to-stop-using-sky-as-an-open-sewer\/\" title=\"Al Gore Still Preaching Climate Change: Need to Stop Using \u2018Sky as an Open Sewer\u2019\">carbon stored<\/a> in soil.\u200d It\u2019s an obstacle to \u2062overcome if\u2064 the young and booming soil carbon\u2064 market is\u2063 to avoid \u2064the scrutiny, \u2063and skepticism, directed \u200cat\u2062 carbon credit\u2062 markets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe science piece\u200c (of carbon credits) \u200bhas really \u200clagged \u2064behind,\u2064 particularly when \u2062it \u2064comes to\u2064 things \u200blike monitoring,\u2062 reporting,\u200b and verification,\u201d \u200dsaid Cristel \u2062Zoebisch, deputy \u2063director \u2063of\u200d policy at climate\u200b organization\u200b Climate\u200c 180. \u201cThese are huge obstacles for not \u200djust \u2064soil carbon sequestration, but really \u200bany \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/farm-fields-dont-just-feed-us-they-store-carbon-but-a-big-question-is-how-much\/\" title=\"Farm fields not only provide food but also serve as carbon storage. However, the amount of carbon stored remains a significant question.\">land-based carbon removal \u200bsolution<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Armstrong has \u200bbeen trying to \u200bhelp\u2063 fix that problem. He\u200b runs a lab\u2063 where researchers are\u2064 investigating\u200b how farming management affects\u200c the \u200damount of carbon in soil\u200b across \u2064different \u2062landscapes. He \u2064and\u2064 others at Purdue\u2063 have\u2064 been\u200c studying soil samples that date\u200b back more than 40 years,\u2063 comparing\u200b different \u2064types of\u200b tilling and\u2062 cover crops to determine\u200b their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/study-suggests-pregnant-women-vaccinated-for-covid-19-may-pass-on-antibodies-to-infants\/\" title=\"Study Suggests Pregnant Women Vaccinated For COVID-19 May Pass On Antibodies To Infants\">long-term effects<\/a> \u2063on\u2063 carbon\u200b storage. \u2064It can take\u2062 years \u2062of\u2062 fieldwork, careful \u2064chemistry in\u200d the\u2063 lab, and \u200dlots\u2062 of\u2062 expensive equipment to\u2062 puzzle that \u2063out.<\/p>\n<p>He hopes \u200chis precise calculations will help\u200d farmers make\u200b decisions that \u2064allow them to \u200creceive \u2064worthwhile incentives for \u200bsequestering \u200dcarbon while\u2062 maintaining their existing\u2063 profits.<\/p>\n<p>But other\u2064 academics worry that even if farmers do\u2062 get\u2064 paid for\u200b storing soil carbon, \u200dit\u200d won\u2019t\u200b solve a bigger \u2062problem: that carbon\u2064 markets \u2063often\u200d don\u2019t work.<\/p>\n<p>For \u200doffsets \u200cto \u2063be \u200dlegitimate, they \u2062have\u2064 to\u200b meet four criteria. They have\u200c to\u200d store\u2062 carbon that \u2064would \u200botherwise\u200d be emitted; they \u2063have\u2064 to \u2063be verifiable \u2063in \u2062data; they \u2064have \u200cto \u2062be immediate \u2064(planting \u200ca\u2064 tree that might grow up in 20 years doesn\u2019t\u200c cut it); and they have\u200c to\u2063 be long-lasting,\u200d said\u200d John Sterman,\u2063 a\u200d professor\u200b of management\u200b at \u2064Massachusetts\u2063 Institute \u2063of\u2062 Technology.<\/p>\n<p>Better quantifying\u2064 soil carbon storage through\u2062 research \u2063might \u2064make the\u200b offsets more verifiable,\u2064 but it doesn\u2019t address \u200dother \u2063factors. For example, many farmers rent the land they work, \u2062and \u2064can\u2019t \u2064guarantee \u200bthat \u2063carbon stored on their \u200dland will stay \u200dput \u200din several \u2064decades \u2063if someone\u2064 else \u200dis\u200b working \u2062the land.<\/p>\n<p>Barbara \u200dHaya, director of the Berkeley\u200c Carbon Trading Project at\u200c University of California, Berkeley, has worked on \u200dresearch that\u200b she said\u2062 shows the effects \u200dof \u200bcarbon\u2063 offset projects\u2063 are\u2062 commonly\u2062 overestimated, sometimes vastly\u2063 so.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCarbon trading\u200b is a \u2063mechanism that has failed miserably over \u200dthe last 20\u2063 years that we really \u200cneed\u200d to be moving\u2064 away from,\u201d \u200dHaya\u2063 said.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. \u2062Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif.,\u2063 last\u200b month\u2064 introduced\u2062 a bipartisan bill\u2062 to \u200bsupport farmers \u200cin\u2063 improving \u2062soil health, with\u2063 incentives that \u200bdon\u2019t\u2062 necessarily\u2064 involve the\u200d carbon\u2063 market.\u200c He said farmers in \u2063his\u2064 district have\u200d also \u200bdescribed the \u2062benefits of regenerative practices, and that many would\u2062 be interested\u2064 in participating \u200din \u2063carbon \u200bmarkets with \u201crobust\u201d \u2063accounting systems. But\u2064 he\u2064 added\u200b that those hoping for serious climate action shouldn\u2019t rely only on offsets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn \u200bmy opinion, it\u2019s\u200c really not \u2063the\u2063 silver \u2063bullet,\u201d\u200c Huffman said. \u201cI think offsets \u2064are inherently sketchy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some \u200dfarmers \u2062are\u2063 moving\u200b cautiously.<\/p>\n<p>Brad Wetli, an Indiana farmer \u2064who collaborates with Armstrong, has \u2064been trying\u200c techniques that use less tilling and has \u200dbeen\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nestle-revamps-coffee-sustainability-plan-as-climate-challenges-mount\/\" title=\"Nestle revamps coffee sustainability plan as climate challenges mount\">planting cover crops<\/a> like rye \u2064for\u2062 a\u2064 few years now. He\u2019s happy \u2064with the way \u2062his current \u200cfields\u2064 look \u2014 \u201cIt \u200dfeels \u200clike you\u2019re doing\u2062 something\u201d to contribute\u200d to sustainability, he\u2063 said \u2014\u200b but \u2064he\u2019s \u2062still \u2064weighing \u2063his options \u200cwith\u2063 possible \u2063carbon credit contracts, doing the\u2064 math and waiting \u200dto see whether\u2062 the price \u200dwill \u200dbe\u200b right, since many offset\u200d agreements\u200c can\u2063 last for several\u200b years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m going \u200dto do maybe a \u2063field or two\u2062 at\u200b a time, \u2062and as\u2062 I \u2062learn \u200cmore, I\u2019ll \u200chopefully\u2062 incorporate the carbon or \u200ccarbon credits more\u2063 into\u2062 the \u200coperation,\u201d\u2062 he said.<\/p>\n<p>Schafbuch, for\u2063 his part, is skeptical\u2063 of \u200ccarbon \u200dcredits\u200c but\u2063 would have been \u2064enthusiastic about \u2063regenerative farming no\u2063 matter\u200b the upfront costs. He said\u200b he was\u200d an\u2063 early\u200d adopter in the \u2063face of \u200dneighbors who \u200claughed and\u2064 suggested he would \u2064\u201cend \u2063up \u200cbeing\u2063 broke\u201d \u2014 but \u200bhe\u2019s proved \u2064them wrong.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m convinced that\u2063 if you\u2064 do it right, anybody \u200ccan\u200d do it,\u201d\u200c he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DYSART, Iowa (AP) \u2014 Al Schafbuch&#8217;s decision to reduce plowing and adopt cover crops in his Iowa fields aimed to save money on fertilizer and prevent erosion. The outcome exceeded expectations, as his soil transformed into dark, chunky, and organic matter, providing a rich texture that he finds satisfying.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1974639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1974638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1974638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1974639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1974638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1974638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1974638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}