This article is based on two accompanying articles by Jeff Carter and Kristin Williams in our Summer 2021 Newsletter. Read the full articles on page 6 and additional info from Kirsten Workman on page 1.
Adding carbon to agricultural soils is being tossed about as the preferred currency for extra payments to support farms, improve soil health for better crops, hold precious rainwater, and reduce those pesky CO2 greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere which are hurting our planet. This leaves farmers and service providers asking, “how much carbon should we be trying to add to our soils?” The short answer is, “as much as you can.”
Right now, the Vermont Climate Council, the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) workgroup, and the Addison County Climate and Economy Action Committee (CEAC) are all discussing the values of increasing carbon in farm fields, for short-term income, long-term soil base preservation, and GHG mitigation. Easy to talk about, but much harder to accomplish if you are a farmer.
The University of Vermont is in the process of soil health testing, including measuring carbon for multiple projects. This include a Conservation Effects Assesment Project (CEAP) lead by Joshua Faulkner with support from our team, which is a long term water quality project in Addison County. Allison White is conducting a ‘State of Soil Health’ survey of farms across Vermont. Joshua is also leading another initiative looking at soil health and climate.
Read the full articles in our Summer 2021 Newsletter.
Check out these sites for the status of these projects in Vermont: