Embedded Files
As mentioned in the first section of this curriculum, Carbon Farming on Your Farm, all farming is inherently "carbon" farming due to agriculture's reliance on plants' ability to capture and transform carbon dioxide into agriculture products through the process of photosynthesis. However, because carbon farm planning is a relatively new process, the number of publicly available carbon farm plans is limited. Like a carbon farm plan, this curriculum is a "living" tool kit for conservation planning through a carbon lens. While each carbon farm plan is unique to the producer, planner, and operation, combing through existing plans provides the opportunity to learn from other planners and operations. Ultimately, the overarching goal of carbon farm planning is to support producer efforts for improving and maximizing carbon sequestration capabilities of the land, which in turn lays the foundation for improving soil health, productivity, resilience and other producer goals. As new plans become publicly available, we will continue to update this page. Sample plans for North Carolina, Wisconsin and Texas will be available in 2023.
Pacific
Pacific
Bare Ranch Carbon Farm Plan
Bare Ranch Carbon Farm Plan
Prepared by: Jeff Creque, PhD. (Carbon Cycle Institute, CCI) & Fibershed
Background: Bare Ranch initial pursuit of Carbon Farm Planning began in 2015 with the assistance of CCI and Fibershed. Through a continued partnership with the Carbon Farming Network, they sought to produce Climate-Beneficial wool through the implementation of their carbon farm plan.
Location: 4,500 acres within Washoe County, Nevada & Modoc and Lassen Counties, California.
Current (2015) Land use: The ranching operation includes mother cows, calves, yearlings, sheep, and a small number of horses. A sagebrush and juniper woodland portion of the operation is leased for seasonal grazing. Grass and alfalfa hay are grown in the cropland.
Conservation & Supporting Practices: For a complete description of the conservation practices included in this carbon farm plan, please refer to the document on the right (Table 11, Page 38-40).
Prescribed grazing, Range Planting, & Fencing
Improved Irrigation
Windbreaks and Shelterbelts
Compost Application on grazed Grassland and Croplands
Riparian Restoration
NRCS Feature of Bare Ranch: California Sheep Ranch Corners Conservation Market by Improving Soil Health
Bare Ranch CFP_ Modoc 2016.pdf“I like to think of the carbon farming and the climate beneficial work that we’re doing now as a change of thought; so instead of doing things normally –obviously, we’re raising sheep the same way that it’s been done for hundreds of years– we also think about the soil and the land when we’re making decisions.”
- Lani Estill, Bare Ranch, CA
Gilardi Family Farm Carbon Farm Plan
Gilardi Family Farm Carbon Farm Plan
Prepared by: Jeff Creque, PhD. & Lynette Niebrugge (Carbon Cycle Institute, CCI) ; Marin Resource Conservation District
Background: Gilardi Family Farm initial pursuit of Carbon Farm Planning began in 2016 with the assistance of CCI and the Marin Carbon Project. Through the implementation of the carbon farm plan, the Gilardi Family Farm hoped to improve land management practices through increasing carbon sequestration and to increase the livestock carrying capacity of the operation, while maintaining the family farm. For more details on the goals of the operation, please view the CFP document on the right.
Location: ~80 acres in Marin County, California
Current (2016) Land use: The Gilardi Family Farm produces USDA-certified organic and pasture-raised eggs distributed to Bay Area grocers. The operation also includes a small herd of Jersey cows.
Conservation & Supporting Practices: For a complete description of the conservation practices included in this carbon farm plan, please refer to the document on the right.
Prescribed Grazing, Range Planting & infrastructure supports
Silvopasture, Tree & Shrub Establishment, Windbreaks & Shelterbelts, Alley Cropping, and Riparian Forest Buffers.
Compost Applications
Gilardi Farms CFP_ MarinRCD 2017.pdfCal Poly Swanton Pacific Ranch Carbon Farm Plan
Cal Poly Swanton Pacific Ranch Carbon Farm Plan
Prepared by: Sacha Lozano of Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County, Jeff Creque, PhD. & Lynette Niebrugge of Carbon Cycle Institute (CCI)
Background: General goals of the Swanton Pacific Ranch included expanding education infrastructure, improving soil health for a healthy crop production with minimal synthetic inputs, and developing sustainable management practices to enhance the forest, grasslands, and natural ecosystems. For more details on the goals of the operation, please view the CFP document on the right.
Location: ~75 acres of a 3,200 acre ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California
Current (2016) Land use: The 75-acre area of focus for this plan produces a variety of culinary herbs, dry-farmed tomatoes, squashes, apples, pumpkins, and other crops.
Conservation & Supporting Practices: For a complete description of the conservation practices included in this carbon farm plan, please refer to the document on the right.
Prescribed Grazing, Forage and Biomass Planting & infrastructure supports
Hedgerows, Tree & Shrub Establishment, Windbreaks & Shelterbelts, Alley Cropping, and Riparian Forest Buffers and Herbaceous Cover .
Alley Cropping, Conservation Crop Rotation, and Cover Crops
Swanton Pacific Ranch CFP_ Santa Cruz RCD Nov 2019.pdf"From our perspective, I can say that the process and the completed CFP served as good educational tools to get people more familiar with carbon building management practices/options and how they can be employed in different settings. It was a nice complement to some of our other soil health and climate smart ag education and outreach. Also, some colleagues in our facility services department, which manages utilities like water and electricity on campus and also does our sustainability tracking and certification, appreciated knowing about current and potential carbon capture in ag for use in their analyses of carbon flows on campus."
Hunter H. Francis, Director, Center for Sustainability Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (Center for Sustainability, an interdisciplinary unit within Cal Poly's College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences)
Mountain
Mountain
There are currently no public CFP's for this region.
Plains
Plains
There are currently no public CFP's for this region.
Corn-Belt
Corn-Belt
There are currently no public CFP's for this region.
East Coast
East Coast
There are currently no public CFP's for this region.
‼️ Stop and Think: How are the three carbon farm plans similar and different based on goals and objectives of the producers? How do ecological site differences inform practice recommendations in these plans?
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Discussion board: If you have any questions throughout Module 2, please use the discussion board below to post.
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