Better Soil, Better Climate

Through no-till and cover-crop practices, the soil health management system an Ohio farmer practices restore and re-carbonize soil. The no-till practices increase crop yields by 36-44%, sequesters around 960 kg of carbon per hectare per year, and reduce fertilizer and herbicide use by 75 percent. These efforts also help mitigate climate change while the result of carbon-rich soil benefit farmers with increased water reserve for plants in drought season while filtering water that reduce flooding. The state of California is working on improving programs to encourage farmers to adopt sustainable farming techniques and profit from selling emission credits.