USDA-backed Climate-Friendly Rice Certification will expand the market for climate-smart commodities.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. Sept. 14, 2022 – AgriCapture’s Climate-Friendly Rice project is selected to receive USDA funding under the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program to expand the market for Climate-Friendly rice. The project propels the creation of an economically viable, market-based solution for cultivating rice with lower greenhouse gases (GHG), dramatically reducing methane emissions. This is one of 70 projects selected out of 450 applicants, signaling the USDA’s support and confidence in the AgriCapture Climate-Friendly Rice Certification.
AgriCapture is a leading developer of the climate-smart rice market, with existing partnerships among early adopters including farmers, mills, and buyers. AgriCapture has pioneered an innovative measurement and verification process that certifies reductions in GHG emissions as part of The AgriCapture Climate-Friendly Rice Standard.
The AgriCapture team will provide technical assistance and agronomic advice to farmers, certifying that rice cultivation methods reduce GHGs. Funding will cover the cost for farmers of implementing climate-friendly practice changes and cover third-party expenses associated with monitoring, reporting, and verifying emissions reductions.
“The USDA’s decision to fund AgriCapture’s Climate-Friendly Rice project is a win for our market-building initiatives and will create more opportunities for major buyers to step up and support hard working U.S. farmers,” says AgriCapture Founder and CEO, John Farris.
AgriCapture has established the value chain for climate-smart rice by partnering with rice mills, which are critical to tracing GHG benefits throughout the supply chain. The AgriCapture Climate-Friendly Rice project will reduce annual emissions from the U.S. rice sector by 391,000 tCO2e annually.
USDA funding allows AgriCapture to continue building the market for climate-smart commodities by expanding participating acreage, partnering with additional rice mills, and increasing Climate-Friendly rice purchasing volume. These expansion efforts create a market-based climate solution that supports a net zero future for American agriculture.
About AgriCapture
AgriCapture is technology and data-enabled to provide best in class agricultural solutions to climate change. The Nashville-based AgriCapture team works closely with farmers to develop tailored growing plans and collect on-farm data to quantify, monitor, report, and verify climate-friendly agricultural practices on over 130,000 row crop acres. Producers across eight states are participating in programs to generate carbon credits and climate-friendly crop premiums to expand the market for sustainable agricultural commodities. More information about the AgriCapture Climate-Friendly Rice Certification is available at www.agricapture.com/climatefriendlyrice.
