Carbon Farming
Permaculture for Farmers 201

                                                                      NOFA Mass 2010




          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.


              Regenerative                                                           Apios
              Design Group                                                           Institute
GAIA UNIVERSITY
  NORTHEAST
    www.gaianortheast.org
Carbon Farming
    Concepts


     Tools


   Incentives
Carbon Farming
    Concepts
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
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
The Permaculture Pie
                                                 biochar/
                           bioremediation       terra preta
            composting &                                       aquaculture
                                                                              food forestry
             compost tea
 coppice                                                                                   perennial
woodcrafts                                                                                vegetables
& biomass
                                                                                              apiculture


  keyline                                                                                 mycoscaping

  management-                                                                            alternative
intensive grazing                                                                        currencies
                                                                         edible forest
                    earthworks
                                                                          gardening
                                 natural building
                                                    green architecture
Carbon Farming
    Concepts
Carbon Farming
    Concepts


     Tools
Carbon Farming
    Concepts


     Tools
Carbon Farming
RBON
            Concepts
RMING

             Tools
Carbon Farming Course
Holistic Management
www.holisticmanagement.org
8 years later
Keyline Design
Keyline:   Catch+store
Catch
and
Store
Energy




                     Source:  Permaculture:
                         A Designers Manual
Yobarnie
Yobarnie, 2007


Yobarnie,
Layout,
1988




            Source: Permaculture:
              A Designers Manual
Keyline Plow
Coulter, Tip, Shank
seeding
Yeomans Keyline Plow – Plowing for Rapid & Cheap Soil Development (Pasture)



                                                     Soil conditioning
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

2. Remove stock for 4-6 weeks

3. 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”

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 CSA
  Chatham, NY
3-Shank Plow
Shank & Weed-Knives
Carbon Farmers of America
Cimarron Farm
   Swanton,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
Food Forestry




                52
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?
Carbon Farming
    Concepts


     Tools
Carbon Farming
    Concepts


     Tools


   Incentives
Incentives
Incentives
Incentives



•   abundant fruits/veggies
Incentives
Carbon Markets


        ACX,
        ECX,
        CCX,
        RGGI,
       CaCX...

         CFX
Carbon Futures Exchange
Carbon Markets


        ACX,
        ECX,
        CCX,
        RGGI,
       CaCX...

         CFX
Carbon Futures Exchange
Carbon Markets


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

      •   Designed

      •   Implemented

      •   Monitored

      •   Verified
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
•   Scale

•   Project planning complexity

•   Monitoring, evaluation, verification
Barriers to Small Farmers
•   Scale

•   Project planning complexity

•   Monitoring, evaluation, verification


•   “Additionality”
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


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




            Support
          Organization
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
Incentives



•   abundant fruits/veggies
Incentives
Carbon Farming
Permaculture for Farmers 201

                                                                      NOFA Mass 2010




          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.



              Regenerative                                                           Apios
              Design Group                                                           Institute
GAIA UNIVERSITY
  NORTHEAST
    www.gaianortheast.org

Carbon Farming: Concepts, Tools & Markets