Soil Carbon Moonshot: Grounding Carbon Storage in Science

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March 04, 2022

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by Cristel Zoebisch (Carbon 180) One giant leap for soil carbon - Farmers and ranchers play a central role in the health of our climate and planet. Today, they face more and more pressure from climate change, and one solution — soil carbon sequestration — has the potential to radically transform their ability to respond. But before we can pay farmers to stow carbon in the soil, we need to know a lot more about sequestration practices. That’s why Carbon180 is proposing a research moonshot (and dedicating this entire newsletter issue to the topic of soil carbon). Centered at USDA, the Soil Carbon Moonshot sets forth a vision to accelerate the science and tools needed to develop the next generation of agricultural climate solutions, proposing a $2.3B investment spread over five areas:

? Fundamental research: Understanding which practices work best across US farms, from Illinois to Colorado
? Monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV): Developing the measurement tools necessary to pay farmers and count the climate benefits
? Data collection and management: Improving data collection, leading to better policy, predictive models, and land management decisions
??‍? Practice adoption: Lowering the financial and operational barriers to adoption, especially for BIPOC, beginner, and smaller-scale producers who face unique challenges
? Demonstration trials: Establishing a USDA-led pilot program to enable the farming community to share lessons (because seeing is believing)

Underpinned by federal leadership and coordination, the Soil Carbon Moonshot delivers a farmer-driven roadmap to scale soil carbon storage in a science-based way.

By focusing on our soils, the US can radically transform the agriculture sector’s relationship to climate change. Yet today’s efforts to promote healthy soils are deeply fragmented. The Soil Carbon Moonshot is a five-year proposal for a coordinated, interagency program to establish the foundational science, tools, and projects that will unlock the full potential of US farmlands to support both farmers and the environment. READ MORE

Agricultural Soil Carbon (Carbon 180)

The Growing Climate Solutions Act throws down the gauntlet for science-based research -- The popular bipartisan bill — which just passed in the Senate — is a reminder that we need to better understand soil carbon sequestration (Carbon 180)

$1 Billion Funding Opportunity to Pilot New Revenue Streams for America’s Climate-Smart Farmers, Ranchers and Forest Landowners (U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Grazing animals increase carbon sequestration by up to 80% in PV projects (PV Magazine)

Vilsack: Carbon measuring key to wooing skeptical farmers (Agri-Pulse)

Off-season 'cover' crops expand as U.S. growers eye low-carbon future (Reuters)

The Latest Farm Product: Carbon Credits: Global cropland has the potential to sequester as much as 570 million metric tons of carbon per year. New projects that pay farmers to adopt climate-friendly practices could help. (New York Times)

A Major Climate Idea Is Based on Some Shaky Science: At least for now, we can’t just trap carbon in the soil. (The Atlantic)

As its topsoil washes away, the Corn Belt is losing yields — and carbon (Mongabay)

This startup uses an ancient microbe to turn CO2 into ingredients for food -- The result is a protein that is actually carbon-negative, and requires little to no processing before being added to products like veggie burgers. (Fast Company)

TURNING AIR INTO STONE: TECH-BASED CARBON REMOVAL (Climate One)

ESMC and Benson Hill Partner to Support Midwest Farmers Participation in Agricultural Carbon Markets (Ecosystem Services/Benson Hill/PR Newswire)

Excerpt from Carbon 180: As extreme temperatures and severe drought bombard farmers across the US, S.1251, the Growing Climate Solutions Act, passed last week in the Senate. With a vote of 92–8, the bill represents rare bipartisan alignment on climate and agriculture and will move onto a House vote. Senator Debbie Stabenow and Senator Mike Braun’s impressive leadership not only garnered the support of their colleagues but also endorsements from environmental NGOs and agribusiness groups alike. This is a first step towards incentivizing the adoption of soil carbon sequestration, a key solution to fight climate change and build resilience among producers. The move also warrants a broader reflection about our blind spots in soil carbon science — if left unaddressed, they could hinder our collective ability to incentivize and scale soil carbon practices across the country.

The Growing Climate Solutions Act (GCSA) aims to streamline and reduce barriers to entry for farmers, ranchers, and foresters looking to access private carbon offset markets that will finance changes in climate-friendly practices and monetize their carbon gains.

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Accordingly, Congress will need to work with USDA to ramp up and coordinate RD&D on soil carbon across the following key areas:

Fundamental science: Increasing research will continue to improve our understanding of soil carbon dynamics, including the durability of carbon in agricultural ecosystems, the impact of soil amendments like compost and biochar, and the development of technology-enhanced crop varieties. This research can ensure that offset protocols are rooted in the best available science and enable the expansion of these markets towards newer, high carbon storage potential practices.
Monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV): Many voluntary offset markets either rely on onerous on-farm sampling or low-quality models to quantify and verify carbon storage. Without major advances in MRV protocols and technologies, we are at risk of overcounting carbon removals and stifling the scale at which these practices can be deployed. Investments are needed to develop and refine a wide range of MRV tools and their implementation into offset protocols.
Economics and social science: Producers face uncertainty around how to best implement practices that maximize soil carbon storage — the cost of implementation, precise information on benefits, and operations planning are all challenges. These challenges are particularly acute for small- and medium-sized farms and socially disadvantaged producers who historically have had more difficulty in accessing USDA support. Increased and robust economic and social science research can improve incentive program design and support producers in making informed decisions for their bottom lines.
Real-world demonstration trials: While monetary payments from voluntary offset markets are potentially lucrative, producers often don’t have the on-the-ground proof points needed to make them feel more comfortable in taking on additional risk. An extensive network of soil carbon demonstration trials is critical to test and derisk practices across the diversity of operations, soils, and climates of the US agriculture industry. These demonstration trials can also provide critical data to improve the accuracy of remote sensing tools or models aiming to estimate soil carbon storage based on practice change.

GCSA is a first step forward for bringing carbon removal into the equation for the US agriculture industry — but first, there is more work to be done. Without significant investments in more robust science, GCSA will fall short of what’s needed to support America’s agriculture producers at a time when their yields are facing increasing adversity due to a changing climate. While creating thoughtful and inclusive incentives is critical to soil carbon sequestration, foundational science is a prerequisite that deserves further Congressional attention and investment. READ MORE