Nashville, Tenn.-based AgriCapture is expanding its Soil Enrichment Project to allow farmers to sign up another 50,000 acres in August to receive premium payments for their climate-friendly farming practices in 2023.

Since its launch in September of 2021, the Soil Enrichment Project has more than doubled in size with over 110,000 acres of regenerative farmland enrolled and 31 farmers participating in eight southern states.

“Word is spreading quickly across the Mid-South, and farmers are approaching us to join our project,” said John Farris, founder and CEO of AgriCapture. “We are spending time with farmers explaining that they must enroll before September to receive maximum direct financial incentives from AgriCapture.”

Farris is an investor and landowner who started AgriCapture after he was unable to find a private entity that could help him capitalize on regenerative and climate friendly farming practices that are aimed at keeping carbon in soils.

Enrolled acres of rice, corn, cotton and soybeans are registered with the Climate Action Reserve’s Soil Enrichment Protocol. The SEP provides guidance on how to quantify, monitor, report and verify agricultural practices that enhance carbon storage in soils rather than allowing it to escape into the atmosphere.

Farming practices

Participating farmers are implementing climate-friendly farming practices including cover crop rotations, reduced/no-till, efficient fertilizer application, avoided burning and irrigation changes to reduce GHG emissions and sequester carbon. Due to the environmental impact of these practice changes, AgriCapture is generating high-quality and high-value carbon credits.

“AgriCapture’s direct financial incentives help make it possible for us to consider certain practices,” said Jarrett Lawfield, a farmer from New Madrid, Mo., who is enrolled in the project. “They understand farmers, they know what questions to ask and, most importantly, they are not full of empty promises.”

AgriCapture pays all costs associated with the carbon credit project development so there are no out-of-pocket expenses for the farmer. AgriCapture receives a percentage of the revenues or credits generated from the farm with the majority going to the farmer.

Multiple buyers

Credits generated per acre vary based on the crop and practice combinations. “AgriCapture has already received strong interests from multiple buyers for $30/credit with demand expected to drive the prices up over the new few years.

“AgriCapture is making sure climate-friendly farming will work long term by providing financial incentives for practices that help the soil and the environment. They are actively pursuing a premium market for our carbon credits and climate-friendly rice and popcorn.” said Steve McKaskle of McKaskle Family Farm in Braggadocio, Mo.

AgriCapture manages the full project development and carbon credit generation process to reward farmers for their regenerative farming efforts.

A team of agronomists and sustainable farming experts determine an optimal combination of climate-friendly farming practices and collect practice data from farm records, remote sensing, and satellite imagery to submit for validation and verification of emission reductions with CAR. The AgriCapture team manages the sale of carbon credits and facilitates payments to farmers for their climate-friendly farming practices.

The Soil Enrichment Project is the second-ever greenhouse gas reduction project registered with the Climate Action Reserve, which is involved with a number of other protocols, including those for biochar, grassland conservation and forest preservation in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Currently, AgriCapture is working with growers in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas to expand climate-friendly agriculture programs as a solution to climate change. For more information visit www.agricapture.com.