Environment

Iowa experiment tests potential to pair solar with carbon sequestration

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As thousands of acres of Iowa farmland are eyed as possible sites for solar farms, a research project is getting underway to explore a new crop that could co-exist with this burgeoning source of power: carbon sequestration. The state’s economic development office last month awarded $297,000 to an environmental consultant to create a business model “for monetizing carbon capture on solar energy farms.”

Although solar energy production and “carbon farming” exist independently, the consultant, Mike Fisher, said he didn’t think they’ve been combined, as he has proposed. He will test his theory that the right combination of crops could stash significant amounts of carbon in the ground while enhancing the soil’s fertility. Both the landowner and the solar developer could benefit, he said, from the sale of credits for the sequestered carbon and the enhancements to the soil. 

The most common Midwestern crops — corn and soybeans — don’t sequester much carbon because they put most of their energy into producing above-ground “fruits,” said Randy Jackson, an agronomy professor at the University of Wisconsin. Perennials, which plow much more of their energy into roots, stash more carbon as a result. Pasture grasses, such as brome, direct carbon into just the top 12 inches or so, Jackson said.

farmland

Disappearing Farmland: Despite Value, Little Protection Exists For Midwest Farmland

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America has lost millions of acres of farmland over the nearly three decades to urban and rural development. Despite conservation efforts by state and local governments and increased financial incentives for farmers, urban development and the expansion of rural residential real estate over the last 25 years has eliminated farmland across the country at levels not seen since the early 1970s.

agriculture

USDA Fails To Monitor Farmland’s Foreign Owners

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A law requiring foreign investors to report transactions of farmland to the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been on the books for almost 40 years. But, this Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting investigation reveals, little has been done to enforce the law.

agriculture

Foreign Investment In U.S. Farmland Rising

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Foreign companies have been investing in agricultural land in the United States at a record pace this past decade, a Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting analysis of USDA data shows.