Pilot project translates farm data to carbon credits
Truterra and Nori aim to create a new voluntary carbon removal marketplace. The companies start a pilot project that translates existing farm data that capture the carbon removal impact of on-farm conservation practices into potential carbon credits that could offer a new viable revenue stream for farmers.
Through the pilot, Truterra (a wholly owned subsidiary of Land O‘Lakes, Inc) is syncing up Insights Engine, which farmers are already using to generate customised stewardship and profitability data and insights for each field and acre, with Nori’s carbon marketplace.
Potential value of carbon credits
Growers will be able to use the data they‘ve already entered into the Truterra Insights Engine and other sources of farm data to submit to Nori, at no cost to them, to see the potential value of carbon credits they could generate as a result of the soil health-building practices they have implemented on their farms. Currently, farmers can be paid up to $ 15 per tonne of carbon sequestered in the soil on Nori’s marketplace.
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This new pilot with @TruterraLLC will help farmers gain value from their data and stewardship practices. It’s fueled by connecting to innovative technology & high-speed internet. Read more on @successfulfarm: https://t.co/17GsSYBNXQ #ruralbroadband pic.twitter.com/ivdvDC0atv
— Land O'Lakes, Inc. (@LandOLakesInc) October 15, 2020
Farmers retain full ownership of their data
The pilot is to make it easier for growers to understand what they have to gain in a carbon market and to use that information to make decisions about their stewardship practices. Under the pilot, farmers will retain full ownership of their data, says Truterra. Nori can provide guidance on how much data to use to qualify for carbon credits.
Truterra and Nori are working with a handful of farmers and ag retailers in the Truterra network to develop the pilot during this growing season, which will continue into the 2021-2022 growing season. The partners will continue to add new ag retailer and farmer participants in the coming months.
Also read: Compost key to sequestering carbon in the soil
Make carbon markets more accessible
The pilot partners will apply lessons learned to make carbon markets more accessible to Truterra’s network and, ultimately, all of agriculture. Participating in the pilot is also to give farmers and ag retailers in the Truterra network an opportunity to directly impact how farmers can be rewarded for good stewardship practices as carbon and ecosystem services markets become more mainstream.
Partnership to identify and adress challenges
Truterra is focused on developing new ways for our farmers to derive value both from their data and from the stewardship practices they have made the choice to implement on their farms,” said Amanda Neely, Senior Manager, Technology and Innovation, Truterra.
“There’s a lot of excitement and, frankly, some big promises out there about carbon markets and the potential for farmers to derive revenue from them. But private sector markets are still in their early stages and there are still many challenges to address before they can scale and become mainstream. This partnership is designed to identify and address those challenges, and deliver real results and value for the planet and for our farmers, building on the improved profitability and better return-on-investment that farmers in the Truterra network may see as a result of implementing certain conservation practices.”
