To start, I am a full-on soil carbon conservation advocate - for many reasons.  The role of how we move our cropping systems to become the central CO2-sink and source of "sequestration" carbon credits will become more and more obvious.  Soil health, aka soil carbon conservation planning is the most immediate in-situ solution with scale to help kick-start the whole awareness that carbon does have a price. 

It can is and will be a source of new farm-gate income that strengthens the pre-eminence of the American farmer in a world facing an ever-growing population and climate uncertainty.  The "politics" of this requires the soil health regenerationalists to GET INFORMED and make certain they, the "carbon pioneers", have several of the chairs in the process.  And believe me, that the land sharks are circling around our community.  Get ready to negotiate your share of the sequestrated soil carbon your landlord's lease will demand. 
 
The opportunity to shift our farming systems from a degenerative condition, to sustainable, and via soil heath/soil carbon programs, regenerative is the BIG NEW GREEN DEAL. I am for voluntary soil carbon credit exchanges. The USDA or CCC and an implied cap-and-trade IMHO at this time is not the best pathway; I do not believe this will be seens as a BMP forward.  It is one alternative where the National interest is to accelerate agriculture's central leadership role in the climate challenges. 

Sanborn Field 130 Years of Cropping Systems Research
Dully-Millar Erosion Plots - The Story of Soil Health and Its Regeneration

As regards all of the noise around livestock and Impossible pusedo-meats, well, be prepared for change.  As the carbon accountancy in farming systems improves, rangelands and grass-fed finishing as well as how livestock BMP can also cause sequestration in emerging complex cropping system that explicitly includes livestock.
<<<<<<<<<<<  FYI  >>>>>>>>>>>  

Biden Bets the Farm on Climate - President Joe Biden has made no secret of his grand plans to tackle climate change. Before he even took office, he’d assembled a team of experienced climate experts to serve in his cabinet and spoke openly of a net-zero emissions future. Within hours of his swearing in, he’d formalized plans to re-enter the Paris climate accords. And within days, he’d made climate-related  pronouncements covering everything from new federal oil leases (now on pause) to the government’s fleet of cars and trucks (soon to be all-electric). 

Along the way, he and his team have made it abundantly clear that American farms will be fundamental to their efforts. Biden’s advisors quickly identified the US Department of Agriculture as a “lynchpin” of any climate strategy. The president predicted that the United States would be the “first in the world” to achieve net-zero emissions from its ag sector, which currently accounts for an estimated tenth of total US emissions. And former and future Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack declared agriculture “the first and best place to begin getting some wins” on climate. ...

(Sanborne (full).jpg)

Sanborne (full).jpg (98KB - 193 downloads)