<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/sequester-carbon-soil-big-food-companies/>
"Jason Johnson, Stonyfield Organic’s farmer relationship manager, fires up the
AgriCORE soil sampling tool in a pasture with sweeping views of central Maine’s
rolling hillsides at Dostie Farm, an organic dairy. The auger bit whirrs as it
slices through clover and grass, spiraling downward into the earth to retrieve
a sample from the 650-acre farm on a blustery October day.
It takes Johnson three tries to get it right, and the auger emerges from the
ground, encased in a thin layer of dark soil. Leah Puro, agricultural research
coordinator at Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment, scoops
the soil into a tiny foil dish, then pops it into a battery-powered oven to
remove its moisture before sending it to Yale University for elemental
analysis, one of the most accurate methods for measuring the amount of carbon
trapped in the soil. Puro slides another portion of the soil into a portable
refractometer to measure the carbon content using a newer method called Quick
Carbon that’s being tested as a rapid means for measuring carbon in the field.
Noting the soil’s dark color, Britt Lundgren, director of organic and
sustainable agriculture at Stonyfield, says, “I bet it’s pretty good. … So,
then the trick is to figure out, based on the soil type, how much more carbon
it could hold and to what depth.”
Dostie is one of six dairies working with Stonyfield to hone cost-effective
methods for measuring soil carbon, and tracking changes associated with farming
or grazing practices, through an initiative called OpenTEAM. Eventually,
Stonyfield will compensate farmers in its supply chain for storing carbon in
their pastures, as part of its “science-based target,” or commitment to cut
carbon emissions 30 percent by 2030."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
