Building soil carbon: An opportunity to grow profits and generate income
Northumberland beef and sheep farmer and Regenerate Outcomes’ Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Matt Jordon, explains how farmers can earn additional revenue from healthy soil.
Building soil health through regenerative agricultural practices has become a hotly discussed topic in the last decade, both within and outside of farming.
There are good reasons for this.
Improving soil health drives crop and livestock performance, reduces the need for external inputs, cuts costs and grows profits. This is not to mention a host of other benefits such as greater water infiltration and retention, improved nutrient cycling and resilience to weather extremes.
In addition, it also creates the opportunity for farmers to generate income by selling soil carbon credits.
What is soil carbon?
Practices such as mob or rotational grazing, increasing sward diversity and reducing cultivation, all help to build soil organic matter. Organic matter is all of the living or once-living things which soil contains and is made up of approximately 50 per cent carbon by weight.
Agricarbon taking soil cores at one of Regenerate Outcomes’ member farms in Wales.
Very simply, the more organic matter you have in your soil the more carbon it contains and the healthier it is. The healthier your soil is, the more benefits you will begin to enjoy as a farming business.
Selling your soil carbon
Soil carbon contained in organic matter all represents carbon dioxide which has been removed from the atmosphere through plant photosynthesis at some point in time.
As businesses look to achieve ‘net zero’ this creates a market for selling removals in the form of carbon credits to companies which want to offset their emissions.
Carbon removals are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, with one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent equal to one carbon credit.
Baselining and measuring soil carbon
In order to generate and sell carbon credits, farmers must demonstrate a growth in carbon stocks in their soil over time.
This means the first step is to obtain an accurate soil carbon baseline. Once a baseline is in place, increases in soil carbon can be measured and quantified to generate carbon credits.
“Without a baseline in place any value you create from your management will go unrewarded.”
Even if you are uncertain about the prospect of selling carbon credits from your farm, getting a baseline will still give you the option of doing so in the future. Without a baseline in place any value you create from your management currently will go unrewarded.
The best time to obtain soil carbon baselines is either in the spring or autumn, with the deadline for booking a baseline falling in December.
Choosing the right baseline
In order to maximise the value of the carbon credits you generate, it is important to ensure you get a high integrity baseline.
It makes most sense to get a baseline which follows an international verification standard, such as the Verified Carbon Standard.
“Generating carbon credits should not be about replacing food production. It is about gaining an added benefit while building a resilient farming business based on healthy soil. ”
This will enable you to earn more from your carbon, as verified credits trade for a premium price and are more likely to retain their value over time.
Many farmers find it beneficial to work with a trusted partner like Regenerate Outcomes who can facilitate baselining to a very high standard that is compatible with verification schemes.
The financial benefits of healthy soil
A recent study in the US has shown significant reductions in the cost of inputs on farms which adopted regenerative practices.
Results for livestock farms after five years included on average a 38% reduction in veterinary bills and 40% fewer days using processed feed, while arable farms saw a 22% reduction in fuel use per acre and a 37% reduction in synthetic fertiliser applications.
Prioritising production
Amidst all the changes which the sector is facing, the priority for most farmers remains the same: Running a profitable business while producing food.
The beauty of improving soil health is that it supports these core aims alongside wider impacts such as carbon sequestration and increasing biodiversity.
Generating carbon credits should not be about replacing food production. It is about gaining an added benefit while building a resilient farming business based on healthy soil.
Register for your spring baseline
with Regenerate Outcomes
Regenerate Outcomes baseline and measure soil carbon at no upfront cost to generate carbon credits which you can retain or sell for additional income.
The deadline for securing your spring baseline is approaching on 7th November.