Come down memory lane and reflect on the early days (with a few stories) and how the agricultural carbon market has evolved. Get to know our US Managing Director here at Agoro Carbon Alliance, Dr. Yebin Zhao. He has been with Agoro Carbon Alliance since day one - in fact he helped start the business when there were only 3-4 people. His strong background in soil science and agronomy have helped shape Agoro Carbon.

Based in Illinois, Yebin joined Agoro Carbon Alliance to help farmers and ranchers adopt soil health practices and add additional revenue to their bottom line. He is an experienced Agronomist skilled in water quality, soil fertility, and environmental awareness. Yebin has degrees from The University of Georgia, South China Agricultural University, and Shandong Agricultural University, including a doctorate in Agronomy.

The European Green Deal provides much-needed reason for optimism in the fight against climate change, offering a comprehensive roadmap for the EU's transition to a sustainable future. Join Christopher Chapman, Agoro Carbon Alliance's Value Chain Manager to discuss his thoughts on the recent European Green Deal and the impact on the EU economy.

Over the past 7 years Christopher has worked to ensure private sector funding for climate change mitigation is directed to credible activities that contribute to sustainable development. Prior to joining Agoro Carbon, he worked for a voluntary carbon market standards organization, managing two sustainable development focused standards.

Listen in to the conversation and learn about what criteria the European Commission is setting for certifying carbon removals, certification requirements, how the certification process for carbon removals will be monitored and verified, who is buying these credits and many more topics surrounding the European Green Deal's impact on carbon credit certification.

In this episode, Brekke Munks, an agronomist with Agoro Carbon, and Jess Peterson, the Executive Vice President of the Society for Range Management, discuss the intricacies of ag carbon and its impact on modern agriculture.

Brekke Munks' passion for agriculture began in rural Wyoming, and she earned a Ph.D. in Agronomy. Her expertise in soil health practices aims to sustain farmers and ranchers through improved soil quality. With extensive experience in agriculture policy and practical range management on his Montana ranch, Jess Peterson brings a unique perspective to the conversation.

They explore how grazing producers have received the carbon program, highlighting the direct and indirect benefits, such as improved soil health, increased forage quality, and enhanced livestock production. The "Good Grazing Makes Cents" initiative is discussed, detailing its integration with carbon farming practices for maximum environmental and economic gains. The impact of the carbon credit program on range management and producers in the Western United States is examined, emphasizing additional revenue streams and positive environmental outcomes. Practical advice for producers considering carbon programs includes thorough research, asking questions, and understanding carbon credit generation.

Brekke and Jess provide a comprehensive overview of ag carbon critical role in sustainable agriculture, making this episode essential for anyone interested in soil health and carbon management.

How do you prefer to listen? You can listen to the episode here or on your favorite service: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Audible. Browse all our podcast episodes here.

The podcast featuring Christopher Daley, a Carbon Project Development Specialist, looks into the role of biodiversity in the agricultural carbon market. Daley emphasizes the importance of biodiversity, highlighting its crucial role in sustaining ecosystems and supporting agriculture. Increasing biodiversity offers numerous benefits for farmers and ranchers, including healthier soil, higher yields, and better water management.

While biodiversity is becoming a focus for corporations as part of their climate-related targets, it's also essential for responsible land stewardship and consumer demand. Biodiversity credits, which have been part of the voluntary carbon market for years, are gaining traction, with frameworks like the Global Biodiversity Framework incentivizing projects to address biodiversity loss. Agoro Carbon contributes through practices such as no-tillage farming, cover crops, seeding native plants, and improved grazing practices, which support healthier and more resilient ecosystems. The future of biodiversity credits lies in projects that promote biodiversity across various landscapes, aligning with the vision of Agoro Carbon.

Let's start this new year with a new podcast episode featuring Northern Texas Rancher, Steve Rapp and his dedicated Agoro Carbon Grower Success Agronomist, Shawntel Ervin. Steve grew up in Texas and is also a mixed animal practitioner. He took over his family farm (est. 1922) where they raise cattle, cotton, wheat, and canola; he has farmed for 47 years. Steve is extremely knowledgeable in the areas of soil health and carbon sequestration with his “back to the prairie approach.” When he decided it was time to look for another source of revenue to add to his operation’s bottom line, Agoro Carbon was one of the only ag carbon companies working with ranch and pasture land. Join us in this episode to learn more about Steve’s experience before and during his participation in our carbon program.

How do you prefer to listen in? Listen to the episode here, or on your favorite service: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible. Browse all our podcast episodes here.

Let's zoom in on a specific and very crucial stage of the ag carbon credit generation process - the role of soil stratification. First off, what is soil stratification or also referred to as “soil strata?”

Well, here is a little preview:
Soil stratification is the process of dividing farm or ranch land into different areas that represent similar soil organic carbon to efficiently sample soil with the most accurate results.

What does stratification look like? And how is it related to the monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon credits? Does AI and remote sensing play a part? We cover all that and more in this episode with Tommy Pudil, Agoro Carbon’s Geospatial Analyst. Tommy is a member of the science team. He is originally from eastern Iowa, and attended school at Creighton University in Nebraska, as well as Georgia Southern University in Georgia. During his time at both schools, he used remote sensing to measure the health of vegetation and map land cover using artificial intelligence and machine learning. Growing up in Iowa, farming has always been something that is important to Tommy, and he enjoys using his skills to help the mission here at Agoro Carbon Alliance. In his free time, Tommy likes to fish, hike, lift weights, and spend time with family and friends.

Come dive into the world of soil health. In this episode we dig into the relationship between soil health and profitability with Agoro Carbon Science Manager, Dr. John Shanahan.

John is one of our founding scientists team members and brings over 35 years of experience as a professional agronomist in both public (Colorado State University, USDA-ARS, Soil Health Institute) and private sector (Corteva Agrisciences) roles. His expertise consists of nutrient, water, and soil health management in crop production systems. John is also proficient in the use of multiple digital farming tools for helping growers improve profitability and sustainability.

Farmers and ranchers run businesses with very tight margins, so profitability is often the most significant barrier to adoption of soil health practices. Listen in to learn more details on topics like the impact of soil health practices on profitability, ag carbon’s relation to extreme weather resilience, and how yields are affected by soil health practices (cover cropping, reduce tillage, nutrient management).

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Sustainable & Profitable Conservation Farming: Thoughts From A Farmer
• Economics Of Soil Health Systems

Iowa-based Agronomist and Strategic Accounts Manager, Clay Craighton, joins us to chat through the newest way farmers can get involved in the ag carbon market - and it's all about cover cropping with legumes. Cover crops improve soil health and help keep carbon “locked in” to our soil. In this episode, Clay discusses the ins and outs of generating ag carbon credits by diversifying cover crops with legumes, and so much more:

• What are legumes
• Legacy conservation growers can participate
• How adding legumes to the mix works
• Types of legume species
• Application type
  

Farmers that have been managing fields with cover cropping can now qualify to get paid and participate in the Agoro Carbon Alliance program by adding legumes to the species planted. To learn even more about cover cropping with legumes visit the Ag Carbon Knowledge Hub.

If you have comments or suggestions, please visit our website or call 888-224-7423. And be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.