Some of the commonly asked questions we hear from farmers are, “what happens after I sign a carbon contract?” “What’s next? Will I be supported throughout this process?” Our Illinois based agronomist shares the next steps with the Agoro Carbon Alliance that farmers can expect:
What happens after signing up? What data do farmers need to provide?
- After signing the contract, we collect a 3-year historical data summary.
- For row crops, this includes information on tillage, planting, harvest, fertilizer applications, and irrigation. This information is put into our model which, along with annual monitoring data going forward, will determine how much carbon is accumulated throughout the duration of the program.
Who will be the contact person? Can I expect regular contact/farm visits? What do these entail?
- After signing, an agronomist local to your state/region will be your go-to contact with Agoro Carbon. You’ll know our names, faces and never feel alone in the process. All of our team is well versed in transitioning to these conservation farming practices, and are more than prepared to field questions or help with any challenges a farmer may face.
- In addition to our ongoing support, if welcomed, we like to conduct quarterly in-person touch bases, including some farm visits, to keep our boots on the ground and help our growers should-to-shoulder measure their success and address any concerns or challenges they may face, and investigate solutions to these.
When will I be paid?
We have two payment options for a producer enrolled in our program.
- Our ‘Option A’ payment will be paid out to the grower after carbon verification at the 6th and 11th anniversary of the start date of the agreement.
- Our ‘Option B’ payment will provide some pre-payments to help finance practice changes up front. These up front payments will be subtracted from the first issuance payment at year 6.
Tell us about the soil sampling methods and process? How often/where/why/what is being measured?
- After signing up, we will schedule soil sampling to establish the farm’s baseline for as soon as the crop will be off the field, or we can get across the field without damaging crops. Once these initial samples are taken and the baseline carbon content of the soil is determined, we may follow up in years 5 and 10 of the contract to calibrate our carbon model and ensure its accuracy.
What are some of the most common questions that you hear from farmers after beginning the process, switching from conventional to conservation farming practices?
- In my geography (central corn belt) the biggest concerns are weed control, nitrogen management. There is a perceived ‘yield drag’ when adopting no-till in the first 3 years or so, which often is not the case in recent years. As far as weed control goes, timely applications of burndown herbicide replace utilizing tillage as a weed control pass, oftentimes providing better control than any tillage pass would. In addition to this better control, its much more efficient, as the fuel, manpower, and machinery wear running a sizable sprayer pales in comparison to lugging a heavy tillage implement with a high horsepower tractor. In regards to the perceived yield drag, much of this can be eliminated with crop rotation.
- Soybeans respond very well to no-till, even in high crop residue situations- often with no measurable differences in yield vs those planted into heavily worked ground. No tilling corn into soybean stubble can be done relatively easily, but a little more care needs to be taken, mostly in the planter pass. Growers need to ensure proper down pressure, row cleaners, and closing wheel setups are implemented.
- No-till corn on corn, although not impossible to have great success with, does take more effort to ensure success. Robust seed treatments and early season foliar fungicides/insecticides should be considered to keep disease and insects that overwinter in last years corn residue at bay.
- Early season nitrogen is also a key concern, as the extra residue can throw off the C:N ratio, tying up what would be plant available nitrogen. Banded starter fertilizers, whether they be in furrow, to the side of the furrow, or dribbled off the back of the planter on the surface near the furrow are all viable options. Anything to get a concentrated band of early season nitrogen closer to those young corn roots without causing burn will help with this hurdle.
If you are interested in learning more, check out our podcast, where two Midwestern based agronomists discuss these topics in more detail.
