CAN THE SOIL SAVE US? THE DIRT ON LOCAL AGRICULTURAL CLIMATE SOLUTIONS

The agricultural sector contributes anthropogenic greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and thereby is a cause of global climate change. However, the agricultural sector and the forestry sector represent the only two proven economic categories that are also capable of removing carbon from the atmosphere. With a proper incentive structure agricultural soils and perennial biomass can serve as carbon sinks, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing carbon in a functional ecosystem. There are numerous international, national and state programs focused on expanding agricultural climate solutions. The State of Colorado and San Miguel County both have pioneered innovative agricultural climate solutions but these solutions only deliver climate solutions if farmers and ranchers adopt climate-smart practices. In this Town Talk, panelists will provide thoughtful insights from three distinct perspectives:

• Tony & Barclay Daranyi ,Indian Ridge Regenerative Farm in Norwood
• Chris Hazen, San Miguel County Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) program
• Cindy Lair, Colorado STAR (Saving Tomorrow’s Agricultural Resources) Program
• Moderated by Adam Chambers, US Department of Agriculture

View all speaker bios here.

There are no silver bullets in our attempts to address global climate change, every economic sector must deliver substantial emissions reductions to avoid exceeding 1.5-2.0 degrees Celsius in global temperature (compared to pre-industrial average temperature). Colorado’s agricultural sector is being asked to deliver climate solutions while producing food and fiber, in this Town Talk you will learn about innovative approaches to build soil carbon and sequester carbon in perennial biomass.