Is Carbon Farming for You?

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.

This week is all about women in ag. We are fortunate to have two new guests who share their early beginnings on the farm and pasture, the role of women in ag-based culture, and how it’s evolved. Their own families have lived through the rewards and challenges of farming and ranching. Their insights are eye-opening and maybe relatable to some.

Kerry Hoffschneider, Communications Manager at Graze Master Genetics and host of the Underdog Ag Podcast, joins us to discuss her experience in agriculture. She was born into ag - the farm raised her. At a young age you'd find her laying pipe, helping with irrigation, and of course playing in the pasture. Today she continues her work in ag by helping producers through Graze Master Genetics.

Ashley Bruner, Global Marketing Manager at Agoro Carbon Alliance, also grew up playing and working on her parent’s Illinois farm. She discusses the passion and minds of women in agriculture; plus, women’s role that have contributed to keeping agriculture alive and well from generation to generation.

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.

We sat down with Kyle Henry, an Ohio rancher, who is also an Agoro Carbon Alliance member. We chat about the early onboarding process from a rancher's perspective to help others understand what exactly happens after a carbon contract is signed. He transports us to Uhrichsville, Ohio or as he says "a little slice of heaven." Kyle shares his family farm history, the transition from raising dairy to beef cattle, and his current acres of pasture enrolled in the Agoro Carbon program. Kyle takes us through the onboarding phase of our carbon program from the data collection points like herd size and pregnancy rate to the anticipation of his soil sample results.

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.

This week we borrowed Markus Braaten, Market Development Manager of Digital Agronomy, from our parent company: Yara International. Yara is a respected global leader in soil fertility solutions. Markus discusses alongside Agoro Carbon’s Science Agronomist, Seth Urbanowitz, the topic of Nitrogen (N) use efficiency and Nitrogen's role in the carbon market. Together they cover topics like:

• How N use efficiency can increase yield, reduce emissions, and lower input costs for farmers when adopting conservation practices
• N removal vs. reduction
• Carbon emission avoidance 

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.

In this episode we welcome Alejandro Plastina, Associate Professor of Economics at Iowa State University alongside his former student and our Cornbelt Carbon Cropping Manager, Clay Craighton. 

Dr. Alejandro Plastina specializes in agricultural production and technology, with an emphasis on farm business and financial management. His research focuses on the socioeconomic drivers of conservation practices, voluntary pest resistance management, carbon programs, and agricultural productivity. He chats with us about his research and the role universities like Iowa State have in the voluntary carbon market.

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.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 80% of Texas has been facing drought conditions most of the year, and some areas for much longer. Prolonged drought can lead to crop loss, heat stress and limited feed availability for livestock, as well as increased risk of wildfires. In this episode we discuss drought conditions: how to help mitigate them, what does drought mean for your crops and soil health, and how does is impact carbon sequestration. Our guest are Texas-based agronomist Travis Kidd and Nebraska-based science agronomist John Shanahan.

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.

We have a new partner we'd like you to meet: the Graze Master Group. Our new, Nebraska-based partner Graze Master Group conducts business with a rancher-first farmer-first mindset. Episode guests are Del Ficke, founder of Graze Master Group and Sales Director of Agoro Carbon, Larry Hafer dive into what make us a terrific pair and how we'll help positively impact ag and our planet together.

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.