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Whether it’s due to government policies or carbon credit incentives, veteran no-tillers are getting the short end of the stick. With most carbon credit companies refusing to accept veteran no-tillers in their programs, you can see why I think the current rules are unfair.
With these same concerns being common among Canadian no-tillers, Rachel Hor points out that the Canadian prairies have made tremendous strides in improving soil health in recent decades, mostly due to the widespread adoption of no-till. She is the head of CarbonTerra, a Saskatchewan company focused on developing carbon-neutral ecosystems in western Canada.
Little Credit for No-Till
While many carbon credit programs only accept newly no-tilled acres, Saskatchewan presents a unique challenge as 93% of their ground in 2016 was already being cropped with no-till or reduced tillage.
For some reason, there’s a lack of respect by the Canadian government as to the dramatic impact no-till has had on carbon sequestration in western Canada. A major argument is the difficulty of sequestering additional carbon on ground that’s been no-tilled for decades, even though research shows no-till in the western Canadian prairies can sequester 1½ tons of carbon per acre every year. This is the same as taking 3 million gasoline-powered vehicles off the road each year.
Another concern is the permeance of soil-stored carbon, which could be released into the atmosphere with a switch back to intensive tilling.
Long-term studies demonstrate a positive carbon change in carbon levels, even up to 3 decades after transitioning to no-till. Plus, carbon gains from no-tilling extend much deeper in the soil profile than initially expected, trim greenhouse emissions, lower costs and lead to a dramatic drop in traditional summer-fallowed acres in western Canada.
Long-Term Damage
Besides not getting tax breaks or incentives for decades of no-till, growers in both the U.S. and Canada are excluded from many carbon offset markets. As an example, Canadian growers who started no-tilling prior to 2017 are denied government greenhouse gas offset credit credits for sequestering carbon.
Time for Change
It’s time for carbon credit companies to recognize the value of no-till over many decades. Many carbon credit systems currently in place are an insult to veteran no-tillers who deserve a fair shake in earning carbon credits.
There’s no reason to penalize early no-till adopters for being early adopters.