AgriCapture’s commitment to developing agricultural carbon credits is built on strong farmer relationships, robust data capabilities, and globally recognized verification standards. Here’s how our approach ensures the integrity of our carbon credits by addressing key quality elements: additionality, permanence, and reversal risk.
Reducing Emissions with The Soil Enrichment Project
The AgriCapture Soil Enrichment Project is a regenerative farming project designed to reduce emissions. Carbon credits are issued through the Climate Action Reserve’s Soil Enrichment Protocol, named for the soil benefits from carbon sequestration and reduced agricultural emissions.
Rice farmer in the Soil Enrichment Project in Braggadocio, MO.
Across 32,000 acres of U.S. farmland, producers have adopted agricultural practices aimed at decreasing net emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Rice farms, which dominate our project, earn emissions reduction credits by adopting water-conserving and greenhouse gas (GHG)-reducing practices, particularly targeting methane, which has a global warming potential approximately 81 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.
By cutting methane emissions, farmers have also saved over 9 billion gallons of water. Further emissions reductions are achieved through reduced fertilizer use, minimized tillage, improved crop rotations, cover cropping, and reduced burning.
To maintain the integrity of AgriCapture Carbon Credits, the Soil Enrichment Project undergoes third-party verification for compliance with additionality, permanence, and avoided reversal requirements.
Ensuring Additionality
Additionality ensures that the credited GHG emission reductions would not have occurred without the incentive of carbon credit revenues and were not implemented prior to the project start date.
All project fields and practice changes meet the Soil Enrichment Protocol’s two-prong additionality test: Performance Standard Test and Legal Requirement Test.
Meaning, farmers weren’t previously using practices aimed at water savings, reduced fertilizer use, reduced tillage, improved crop rotations, cover cropping, or reduced burning. The potential to earn carbon credit revenue alleviates the financial and operational challenges associated with adopting regenerative farming practices.
If you’re a farmer already following these practices, check out our Climate-Friendly Sourcing and supply chain insetting work here For Farmers
A rice farm in the Soil Enrichment Project in Dexter, MO.
Guaranteeing Permanence
Permanence is the duration that carbon must remain in the ground, preventing its release back into the atmosphere.
Most emissions reductions from the Soil Enrichment Project do not depend on carbon sequestration, ensuring permanence. Farmers achieve reductions by implementing practices that limit methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide emissions from the start.
For fields involving soil carbon sequestration, AgriCapture adheres to safeguard mechanisms required by the Soil Enrichment Protocol, including contributing credits to the Reserve Buffer Pool to cover any potential reversals.
Mitigating Reversal Risk
Reversal is the potential release of sequestered carbon or the reversal of emissions reductions.
The Soil Enrichment Protocol mandates that reversible credits be maintained for 100 years following their issuance. AgriCapture enforces this by implementing a Project Implementation Agreement, serving as a land contract committing to maintain emissions reductions.
Since the project focuses on emission reductions, the risk of reversal is minimal. Any reversals are monitored and compensated through the required buffer pool contributions outlined in the Soil Enrichment Protocol.
Ongoing Monitoring & Verification
Monitoring regenerative farming from AgriCapture HQ in Nashville, TN.
Throughout the growing season, AgriCapture monitors regenerative farming activities using farm data collection and remote sensing. This information is submitted for third-party verification before carbon credits are issued by the Climate Action Reserve. This independent verification confirms the environmental impact is real, additional, and permanent.
Facilitating Carbon Credit Sales
After credit issuance, AgriCapture helps sell the credits to businesses to offset their emissions and achieve net zero goals. By purchasing emissions reduction credits from the Soil Enrichment Project, buyers not only reach net zero but also support water conservation and provide additional economic benefits to farmers, further promoting regenerative agriculture and on-farm emissions reductions.
