Embedded Files
When creating a Carbon Farm Plan, it is helpful to organize your data into tables. The example tables in this section of Module 3 are typically used in a Carbon Farm Plan and are templates you can use and modify to fit your plan.
NRCS Resource Concerns
NRCS Resource Concerns
An overall inventory of natural resource conditions on the farm, focusing on the identification of opportunities for reduction in GHG emissions and, most particularly, enhanced carbon capture and storage by plants and soils, is the core of the Carbon Farm Plan. The Planner should think big and plan for the long term, and encourage the Producer to do so as well. 20 years is not a particularly long time in the context of Carbon Farm Planning.
On-site inventory of natural resource conditions/concerns/issues & carbon capture opportunities:
Remember: the principal resource concern in a Carbon Farm Plan is CARBON. Most on farm natural resource concerns have a nexus with carbon. For example, erosion and insufficient soil organic matter, and the need for riparian forest buffers and hedgerows, cover crops, windbreaks, and shelterbelts, all represent carbon loss or carbon capture opportunities on the farm.
The table below is an example of how one can display the NRCS Resource Concerns and associated conservation practices that will address these Resource Concerns throughout the Carbon Farm Plan.
Carbon Farm Planning Inventory Table
Carbon Farm Planning Inventory Table
When you have completed your onsite inventory, mapping, analysis, and initial COMET-Planner scenarios, you can organize your data using the tabular format demonstrated in the Google Sheets document below. This table (as well as the other tables mentioned later in this curriculum) can be modified as needed. It is important to note the instructions for each column in the table. The hectares for each conservation practice deployed will automatically populate when the acres are added. Similarly, values for Total Annual CO2e and 20 yr CO2e will automatically populate when the total values for each source category are added. For your own Carbon Farm Plan, you can use this blank version of the table below by selecting "Make a Copy".
The CO2e value is taken directly from COMET- Planner or another peer-reviewed research model, such as the Ryles and Silver data for compost application to grazed grassland. Please note these coefficients vary, depending upon location (county in the case of COMET-Farm, or Major Land Resource Area in the case of COMET-Planner).
List what model or reference was used to obtain the CO2e value; be sure to include model year or version. Providing a link to the tool used may also be helpful.
Table created by: Lynette Niebrugge, Copyright 2020, Carbon Cycle Institute
List what model or reference was used to obtain the CO2e value; be sure to include model year or version. Providing a link to the tool used may also be helpful.
Table created by: Lynette Niebrugge, Copyright 2020, Carbon Cycle Institute
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Discussion board: If you have any questions throughout Module 3, please use the discussion board below to post.
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Flint, L.E. and Flint, A.L., 2014, California Basin Characterization Model: A Dataset of Historical and Future Hydrologic Response to Climate Change, (ver. 1.1, May 2017): U.S. Geological Survey Data Release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F76T0JPB.
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