Welcome to the CarbonSense section of ILSoyAdvisor.com. The ILSoyAdvisor team designed this as a third-party resource for farmers and ag professionals to understand how carbon markets work, which practices sequester carbon and how to implement those practices on your farm.

WHY CARBON?

Many companies and countries have committed to carbon neutrality and carbon negativity within the next decade.

Carbon offset trading through carbon markets is just one tool that will be utilized to reduce GHG emissions in the coming decades.

A  carbon offset is defined as an instrument representing the reduction, avoidance, or sequestration of one metric tonne of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) or greenhouse gas (GHG) equivalent.

Row Crop Agriculture and Carbon Sequestration

This video from US Soy (a collaboration between USB and USSEC) demonstrates how soybeans can be utilized to sequester or trap carbon dioxide in the soil. However, a conventional tillage, corn and bean field in Illinois sequesters less than 0.10 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per acre according to the COMET Model which estimates agricultural carbon sequestration.

No-Till & Cover Cropping

According to work by the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership implementation of no-till and cover crops could allow for additional carbon to be sequestered in the soil.

Practice National Average Sequestered tonnes CO2 per acre Illinois Average Sequestered CO2
No-Till (NT) 0.49 tonnes CO2 per acre Intensive Till to No-Till
0.74 tonnes CO2 per acre
Reduced Till to No-Till
0.57 tonnes CO2 per acre
Cover Crop (CC) 0.37 tonnes per acre Legume Cover Crop
0.68 tonnes CO2 per acre
Non-legume Cover Crop
0.5 tonnes CO2 per acre

1 Swan et al., 2019, available at http://comet-planner.nrel.colostate.edu/COMET-Planner_Report_Final.pdf and http://comet-planner.com/, ranges provided for general reference and should not be considered additive or field-specific

COVER CROPS

Cover crops allow the soil to continually receive CO2 from the atmosphere.

NO-TILL

No-till prevents carbon dioxide from leaving the soil.

CarbonSense Podcasts

Uncomplicating the Carbon Landscape.
New from ILSoyAdvisor,
listen to the CarbonSense podcast.

Uncomplicating the Carbon Landscape. New from ILSoyAdvisor, listen to the CarbonSense podcast.

RECENT CARBON POSTS

In this webinar, Dr. Andrew Margenot will provide an introduction to climate-smart agriculture and agricultural commodities, how soybeans fit into this paradigm, and considerations for Illinois soybean producers in navigating climate-smart commodity markets.

February 9, 2024 
| by Kelsey Litchfield |

In this Q&A session, Deanna Burkhart interviews Megan Miller, ISA's Agronomy Program Manager, about Illinois' carbon marketplace. They discuss carbon credits, markets, payments, USDA funding, and how the Illinois Soybean Association can assist growers in navigating the complexities of carbon programs.

September 7, 2023 
| by Megan Miller |

Join us for a captivating webinar featuring esteemed experts in the field of agricultural research, Dr. Andrew Margenot, Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and PhD student, Yuhei Nakayama. They will be discussing "The 4Rs of Phosphorus Management for Illinois Soybean Production."

June 13, 2023 
| by ILSoyAdvisor |

In this webinar, Dr. Andrew Margenot will provide an introduction to climate-smart agriculture and agricultural commodities, how soybeans fit into this paradigm, and considerations for Illinois soybean producers in navigating climate-smart commodity markets.

February 9, 2024 
| by Kelsey Litchfield |

In this Q&A session, Deanna Burkhart interviews Megan Miller, ISA's Agronomy Program Manager, about Illinois' carbon marketplace. They discuss carbon credits, markets, payments, USDA funding, and how the Illinois Soybean Association can assist growers in navigating the complexities of carbon programs.

September 7, 2023 
| by Megan Miller |

Join us for a captivating webinar featuring esteemed experts in the field of agricultural research, Dr. Andrew Margenot, Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and PhD student, Yuhei Nakayama. They will be discussing "The 4Rs of Phosphorus Management for Illinois Soybean Production."

June 13, 2023 
| by ILSoyAdvisor |

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