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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
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
