How diversifying into soil carbon can play a part in profitable enterprise stacking on your farm
Farmers are increasingly looking to diversify their operation to get the maximum return possible from each hectare of land.
Many are exploring the concept of enterprise stacking, which can involve using the same land to produce food, deliver environmental payments, attract private finance and improve resilience.
Last month, Regenerate Outcomes Account Director Jake McNaughton joined a panel for the Farmers Weekly Transition webinar on Profitable Stacking.
Jake appeared alongside Katie Leach, Head of Nature at Lloyds Group, and David Furber, from Claydon Drills, to explain how soil carbon credits are an effective way to generate extra revenue, while producing food and increasing farm resilience and profitability.
You can watch the full webinar here.
Rewarding farmers for the carbon stored in their soil
“We focus on rewarding farmers for the carbon stored in their soil,” says Jake.
“Organic matter is roughly 50 per cent soil carbon. If farms are increasing organic matter they are also increasing soil carbon and, in the context of climate change, that is providing a real service to society.
“It is only right that farmers are recognised and rewarded for that and we support them to access those rewards. The fantastic thing about soil carbon credits is that they are entirely compatible with food production. It’s not a matter of one or the other.
“If farms are increasing organic matter they are also increasing soil carbon and, in the context of climate change, that is providing a real service to society.”
“We provide one-to-one, on-farm mentoring from experienced regenerative farmers. This is focused on improving soil health and increasing organic matter and carbon, with all the benefits that brings in reducing costs, building resilience to extreme weather and having a more profitable farm.
“Moving from a conventional system to a regenerative system is not necessarily easy and not without risks. Through the advice we provide, we can help farmers make a success of it and see benefits to the farm business.
From baseline to credit
“My key piece of advice for any farmer who wants to begin generating revenue through soil carbon credits is to get a baseline in place. You cannot begin generating soil carbon credits without it.
“When farmers join Regenerate Outcomes we organise a soil carbon baseline, which involves coming to the farm to take soil cores every couple of hectares, down to 60cm. That is a lot deeper than your typical field testing, which means we can capture extra value for soil which is locked up deeper in the profile.
Soil carbon measurement on a Regenerate Outcomes member farm.
“Every five years we come back and remeasure. The increase in soil carbon over those five years generates credits. We can sell those credits for farmers to create an additional income stream, or they can retain them, maybe to sell them themselves or to offset their own emissions.
“Typically, farmers can expect to produce one to three credits per hectare a year (although there are examples of UK regenerative farms locking up 10 credits per year). The value of the credit depends on the methodology you are using. We have chosen to follow a rigorous, high integrity methodology which typically yields £60 to £80 per credit.
Reassurance and flexibility
“There is some paperwork involved. Members fill in a log book once a year, which essentially details how each field has been farmed and takes about half a day per year. There is also a Whole Farm Plan which is completed every two years.
“The Whole Farm Plan sets out some of the practices you’re looking to use over the next two years. That is written by the farmer and it’s not set in stone, but it helps us understand what direction the farm is moving in so our mentors can work with them effectively.
“When we were designing the programme we wanted it to be appealing to farmers who want flexibility, but also to buyers who want to ensure the carbon will remain locked up in the ground for a long time. Farmers sign a contract for 40 years, but they are able to leave at any time without financial liability.
“My key piece of advice for any farmer who wants to begin generating revenue through soil carbon credits is to get a baseline in place. You cannot begin generating soil carbon credits without it. ”
“The 40-year contract allows us to enter a more premium band of carbon credits, but if farmers leave before that they don’t have to pay back any revenue. This is made possible by something called a permanence reserve, which functions like an insurance policy to make good any carbon that’s released after a farmer leaves the programme.
“Combined with the support and advice we provide, our programme offers an effective way for farmers to enjoy all the benefits of improving soil health, while stacking income from food production and soil carbon revenue.
“It also fulfils the demands of carbon credit buyers, who are looking for high integrity, long-term carbon credits, which also come with a number of co-benefits for biodiversity, water quality and farming communities.”
Is your farm ready to join Regenerate Outcomes?
Regenerate Outcomes provide one-to-one mentoring to help you cut costs and improve crop and livestock performance.
We also baseline and measure soil carbon at no upfront cost to generate carbon credits which you can retain or sell for additional income.
Complete our 3-minute Farm Fit Check to see if you are ready to join.