This blog is part of our series of Wolfe’s Neck Center Stories, focusing on the people and the programs that drive our work for farmer viability, thriving ecosystems, and vibrant communities.
Carbon in our soils tells a story: about the nutrients in the ground, the local water cycle, and the health of ecosystems that surround our farms. Soil carbon measurements can help farmers and researchers evaluate the overall health and weather resilience of a piece of land and how agricultural practices are impacting the environment and the climate. This knowledge helps farmers make decisions that enable their farms to be economically and ecologically resilient.
But data on agricultural soil carbon is not widely available. At Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment, we are working with producers and partners in academia, industry, and agricultural technology to encourage the collection, aggregation, and distribution of this kind of data. The first step is building a system where cattle ranchers feel comfortable sharing this valuable information – a system that is built on (and builds) trust.
The Grazing Lands Carbon Data Initiative (GLCDI) is a Wolfe’s Neck Center project to facilitate the creation of tools and agreements about data sharing that all stakeholders agree to, from the farmer to the food companies. GLCDI began as a project of OpenTEAM, an agricultural technology initiative incubated at Wolfe’s Neck Center, and is funded in part by Walmart and the Walmart Foundation. “This work is creating systems of trust for farmers to share data and for farmers to have sovereignty over their data,” says project manager Kara Weinstein. The project brings stakeholders together to articulate “what requirements are needed for the system to operate,” Kara continues, “and set the foundation for data sharing standards that benefit everyone.”
What are the benefits when farmers feel confident in sharing soil carbon data and have a widely adopted framework for doing so? This kind of data can help farmers:
- qualify for practice incentives
- receive certifications
- participate in research
- get paid for ecosystems services (like the work their land does preventing flooding)
- access price premiums that may be attached to regenerative agricultural products
It’s not just farmers who benefit. This data is the basis of important partnerships between scientists, conservationists, ag tech, food companies, certifiers, and consumers. Projects like the GLCDI help actors across the agricultural sector understand, design, implement, and evaluate management practices that are better for the planet – and create opportunities for consumers to reward those practices. Ultimately, this furthers Wolfe’s Neck Center’s mission to build ecologically and economically resilient food systems through regenerative agriculture.
Visit our website to learn about soil health research on our farm and across the state of Maine and how we use soil carbon data to guide our management practices at Wolfe’s Neck Center.
← Back to Blog