carbon farming: concepts, tools & markets

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The potential of regenerative agriculture for global climate regulation. Farming approaches, market potential, local carbon markets. Read more at www.regenerativedesigns.wordpress.com

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Ethan C. Roland, AppleSeed Permaculture LLC

With Gratitude to Mary Johnson, Darren Doherty, Elaine Ingham, Joel Salatin,and the rest of the Carbon Farming Course trainers.

RegenerativeDesign Group

ApiosInstitute

Carbon FarmingPermaculture for Farmers 201

NOFA Mass 2010

GAIA UNIVERSITYNORTHEAST

GAIA UNIVERSITYNORTHEAST

www.gaianortheast.org

Concepts

Carbon Farming

Incentives

Tools

Concepts

Carbon Farming

Climate:

Change?

Chaos?

Sunspots?

Earth Breathing

(The Earth Breathing)

Where does carbon go?

Where does carbon go?

• Sugars

Where does carbon go?

• Sugars

• Soil

Where does carbon go?

• Sugars

• Soil

• Soil Foodweb

Where does carbon go?

• Sugars

• Soil

• Soil Foodweb

• Humic Acid

Where does carbon go?

• Sugars

• Soil

• Soil Foodweb

• Humic Acid

• %OM

Permaculture

the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural

ecosystems.

Permaculture:

the harmonious integration of landscape and people, providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs, in a

sustainable way

Permaculture:

meeting human needs while increasing ecosystem health

Permaculture:

The Permaculture Pie

perennial vegetables

coppice woodcrafts & biomass

composting & compost tea

biochar/terra preta

apiculture

aquaculture

edible forest gardening

mycoscaping

bioremediation

earthworks

keyline

natural building green architecture

management-intensive grazing

alternativecurrencies

food forestry

Concepts

Carbon Farming

Carbon Farming

Concepts

Tools

Carbon Farming

Concepts

Tools

Carbon Farming

Concepts

Tools

CARBON FARMING

Carbon Farming Course

Holistic Management

8 years later

Keyline Design

Keyline: Catch and Store Energy

Source: Permaculture: A Designers Manual

Catch+store

Yobarnie

Yobarnie, 2007

Source: Permaculture: A Designers Manual

Yobarnie, Layout, 1988

Keyline Plow

Coulter, Tip, Shank

seeding

Soil conditioning

1. Plow to 2” below new root depth

2. Remove stock for 4-6 weeks

3. Just at onset of flowering:

Hard graze to 2-4”

Existing Condition:

Shallow, Compacted, Drought-Prone Topsoil

1. Soil Test & Remineralise

2. Plow to 2” below hard pan

3. Remove stock for 4-6 weeks

4. Just at onset of flowering:

Hard graze to 2-4”

1. Plow to 2” below new root depth:

Max out at 12-15”

2. Remove stock for 4-6 weeks

3. Just at onset of flowering:

Hard graze to 2-4”

Yeomans Keyline Plow – Plowing for Rapid & Cheap Soil Development (Pasture)

And Another Thing:

1% increase in Organic Matter =

63 ton/ac capture in Atmospheric CO2 !

(That’s twice your total annual emissions)

Keyline Pattern

[DD keyline design]

LittleSeed CSAChatham, NY

3-Shank Plow

Shank & Weed-Knives

Carbon Farmers of America

Cimarron FarmSwanton, VT

5-Shank Plow

Italian Ryegrass

www.carbonfarmersofamerica.com

Rodale Whitepaper

• A 40% reduction of global carbon emissions is possible with a switch to regenerative organic agricultural practices on the world’s 3.5 billion tillable acres.

• Agriculture contributes 20% of Carbon emissions in the US, and 12% worldwide

Rodale Institute Regenerative Organic Farming: A Solution to Global Warming

• A 40% reduction of global carbon emissions is possible with a switch to regenerative organic agricultural practices on the world’s 3.5 billion tillable acres.

• Agriculture contributes 20% of Carbon emissions in the US, and 12% worldwide

• Soil holds twice as much carbon as terrestrial vegetation

• Midwestern soils that in the 1950s were composed of up to 20 percent carbon are now between 1- and 2-percent carbon.

• Forests and grasslands generally are 6 to 10 percent organic matter, well over the 1- to 3-percent levels typical of today’s agricultural field systems.

• Because soil organic matter is primarily carbon, increases in these levels will be directly correlated with carbon sequestration. While prevailing farming practices using synthetic inputs typically deplete SOM, regenerative farming practices, including the integration of crop and animal production, build it.

Carbon Farming

• August 25 -September 16th.

• The Farm, Summertown, TN

Carbon Farming

• August 25 -September 16th.

• The Farm, Summertown, TN

• Next one in Hudson Valley?

Regenerative Earthworks

Food Forestry

52

Food Forestry

53

54

55

Seaberry

Hardy Kiwi

Pawpaw

Soil Foodweb

Dr. Elaine Ingham

www.soilfoodweb.com

Composting

Composting

Stone barns 01

Stone barns 02

Aerated Compost Tea

Aerated Compost Tea

Big tea

Broadacre Permaculture

Macedonia‐Design

Photo: Andrew Jones

Permaculture Design

Carbon Farming

Next one in the northreast?

Concepts

Tools

Carbon Farming

Concepts

Incentives

Tools

Carbon Farming

Incentives

Incentives

• abundant fruits/veggies

Incentives

Incentives

Carbon Markets

ACX, ECX, CCX, RGGI,

CaCX...

CFXCarbon Futures Exchange

Carbon Markets

ACX, ECX, CCX, RGGI,

CaCX...

CFXCarbon Futures Exchange

• The details of how a particular carbon-capture project must be:

• Designed

• Implemented

• Monitored

• Verified

Carbon Markets

• Scale

• Project planning complexity

• Monitoring, evaluation, verification

Barriers to Small Farmers

• Scale

• Project planning complexity

• Monitoring, evaluation, verification

Barriers to Small Farmers

• Scale

• Project planning complexity

• Monitoring, evaluation, verification

Barriers to Small Farmers

• “Additionality”

• Scale

• Project planning complexity

• Monitoring, evaluation, verification

Barriers to Small Farmers

A Solution: Aggregators (?)

• Aggregators gather together carbon-capture projects and trade them on the markets

• Sector-focused (e.g. Agriculture, Energy)

• Economy of scale

• Reduced # of verifications

www.chicagoclimatex.com/content.jsf?id=64 List of All CCX Aggregators:

North Dakota Farmers Union Carbon Credit Program

“The goal of the National Farmers Union Carbon Credit Program is to enhance the income of farmers and ranchers through economically successful and environmentally sound land management practices that reduce or offset carbon emissions.”

http://carboncredit.ndfu.org/

Challenges

Challenges

• Middle people = less to farmers.

Challenges

• Middle people = less to farmers.

• To become an aggregator, an organization or company must have $1 million in net worth, with $10 million in assets....

Challenges

• Middle people = less to farmers.

• To become an aggregator, an organization or company must have $1 million in net worth, with $10 million in assets....

• Tied to current global system.

Challenges

• Middle people = less to farmers.

• To become an aggregator, an organization or company must have $1 million in net worth, with $10 million in assets....

• Tied to current global system.

• Non-local; non-accountable?

Copenhagen

Copenhagen

“The climate change accord reached at the Copenhagen summit is a good outcome but is inadequate to combat global warming.”

- R.K. Pachauri, head of the UN IPCC

Copenhagen

“The climate change accord reached at the Copenhagen summit is a good outcome but is inadequate to combat global warming.”

- R.K. Pachauri, head of the UN IPCC

Copenhagen

“It is now evident that beating global warming will require a radically different model of politics than the one on display here in Copenhagen."

-Alternet

Copenhagen

“It is now evident that beating global warming will require a radically different model of politics than the one on display here in Copenhagen."

-Alternet

Copenhagen

“Many shrug off events in Copenhagen on the grounds that national, regional and local regulations are the main drivers of... investment, not international deals.”

-The Economist

Copenhagen

“Many shrug off events in Copenhagen on the grounds that national, regional and local regulations are the main drivers of... investment, not international deals.”

-The Economist

Local Carbon Markets

Local Carbon Markets

Farmers People

Local Carbon Markets

Farmers

Support Organization

People

Local Carbon Markets

• Market price: $0.10 EU 14.0

• Aggregator price: ?

• Consumer price: $3.0 - 28.0

Local Carbon Markets

Design Brainstorm in pairs:

What would it take?

Incentives

Incentives

• abundant fruits/veggies

Incentives

Incentives

Ethan C. Roland, AppleSeed Permaculture LLC

With Gratitude to Mary Johnson, Darren Doherty, Elaine Ingham, Joel Salatin,and the rest of the Carbon Farming Course trainers.

RegenerativeDesign Group

ApiosInstitute

Carbon FarmingPermaculture for Farmers 201

NOFA Mass 2010

GAIA UNIVERSITYNORTHEAST

GAIA UNIVERSITYNORTHEAST

www.gaianortheast.org

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