The topic of carbon capture is increasingly important as the carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in our atmosphere reach record highs. The Paris Agreement, enacted on Nov. 4, 2016, saw nearly 200 countries commit to limiting global temperature increases to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with an aim to cap the rise at 1.5°C. Achieving this requires significant efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C by the end of the century to prevent severe climate impacts, such as droughts, heatwaves and unprecedented rainfall. Data indicates that greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 and decrease by 45 percent by 2030.
The agriculture industry is uniquely positioned to combat climate change. Farmers, as stewards of the land, are driven
to maintain healthy soil, native vegetation and water bodies. Approximately 10% of the Earth’s land is used for farming, and soil-based carbon sequestration is seen as a promising “negative emissions” technology to remove excess CO₂ from the air.
Regenerative Agriculture: A Key Solution
Regenerative agriculture focuses on restoring and enhancing soil and ecosystem health. This approach goes beyond sustainability, actively improving soil organic matter and biodiversity. Techniques like cover cropping, reduced tillage and crop rotation help sequester carbon dioxide, turning fields into “carbon sinks.” However, the carbon markets often undervalue farmers’ contributions, offering low prices for agriculture-related carbon credits.
Many farmers are eager to adopt regenerative practices but face high costs for new technology, soil amendments and crop management. These financial barriers particularly impact small and mid-sized farms in the U.S. and may serve as a deterrent. Farmers currently receive little financial incentive to offset the costs of transitioning to regenerative agriculture, despite their interest and understanding of its long-term benefits.
Agrology: Empowering Farmers with Technology
Emerging technologies are making carbon capture and sequestration more accessible for growers. In 2019, Agrology co-founders Tyler Locke, Adam Koeppel and Kevin Kelly developed a solution using sensors and machine learning to guide farmers in this process. Their goal was to create an affordable, robust system that withstands seasonal changes and provides predictive services to assist growers in staying ahead of potential problems in the field.
Agrology, a public benefit corporation, equips growers with affordable tools to enhance sustainability and address urgent agricultural challenges. The company’s IoT system offers a user-friendly approach to agtech, providing real-time monitoring and insights into a field’s carbon sequestration, soil health and GHG emissions. This predictive platform also helps farmers measure and manage soil moisture, nano-climates, air quality and many other agronomic conditions in real time.
“Building soil biology can be complex, time-consuming and disruptive to current operations. Agrology helps derisk the transition to climate-smart practices through education and support, as well as our ground truth carbon flux data to help guide the way. We are proud to help growers navigate these changes and challenges with our partners like Western Growers. It’s inspiring to see growers use Agrology data to close the feedback loop between their soil and management practices, enabling them to grow one of their most valuable assets: their soil,” said Charlie Dubbe, Head of Regenerative Partnerships at Agrology.
Innovative Technology and Principles
Agrology’s platform is built on several key tech and
design principles:
- Consumer Approach: By applying consumer technology principles, Agrology’s sensors are rugged, affordable and easily replaceable at no cost to the growers.
- Ground-Truth Data: Real time in-field data to close the feedback loop between farming practices and their impact on ecosystem health, soil health and carbon sequestration.
- Machine Learning and AI: Leverages real-time forecast and historical data to predict trends and alert growers to potential issues, allowing them to stay ahead.
- Mobile App: Synthesizes data and delivers actionable insights and predictions, providing growers with the most up-to-date information and alerts for critical thresholds.
Agrology is dedicated to supporting growers with the toolsthey need to succeed while protecting the planet’s sustainability. Its predictive platform offers real-time monitoring and insights, helping farmers address challenges efficiently. Agrology and its partners received approximately $5 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grants for climate-smart agriculture, recognizing their ability to quantify regenerative practices and monitor greenhouse gases and soil carbon respiration in real time.
The Bigger Picture: Carbon Capture and Soil Intelligence
Removing CO₂ from the atmosphere primarily depends on two things: plants and soil biology. Plants absorb atmospheric CO₂ via photosynthesis and transport that carbon into the soil as the root exudates through the liquid carbon pathway. From there, the soil microbiology digests and processes that carbon into forms that are increasingly difficult to decompose. Eventually, the carbon reaches a state of recalcitrance, meaning that it has entered into long-term storage in the soil. Increasing soil organic matter also increases the labile, and subsequently the recalcitrant carbon fraction. Additionally, increasing the soil carbon content also enhances the productivity and water retention of the soil.
Our understanding of soil is crucial. Cutting-edge science and technology are needed to measure and interpret soil properties, known as soil intelligence. This information helps farmers make cost-saving decisions about soil treatments and crop management, maximizing efficiency and sustainability.
“Carbon sequestration is a key focus of climate-smart agriculture, but soils that are rich in microbiology and life offer so much more to farmers than just carbon. Healthy, biologically active soils fuel increased nutrient availability, better water infiltration and holding capacity, which help increase profitability by reducing input costs. Just as importantly, a healthy soil microbiome improves crop quality and resilience,” Dubbe explains.
Soil is the brain and stomach of the farm. With this new technology, we can unlock valuable insights, enabling farmers to lead the way in sequestering carbon and combating climate change.
Introducing Nitrous Oxide Sensors: A New Milestone
So, what’s next? Agrology has introduced the first-ever Nitrous Oxide (N₂O) sensors for the agriculture industry, marking a significant advancement in greenhouse gas monitoring. Nitrous Oxide is a potent greenhouse gas, and its accurate measurement is crucial for understanding and mitigating agricultural GHG emissions. The Agrology N₂O sensors provide real-time data, enabling growers to track and reduce their emissions effectively.
Koeppel explains, “Until now, accurately measuring N₂O emissions at scale has been a formidable challenge, limiting the adoption of practices that can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Our new Nitrous Oxide sensors are set to change this, enabling precise nitrogen application without sacrificing yield, as well as empowering growers to scale agricultural practices that are proven to lower greenhouse gas emissions.”
This new sensor technology is integrated into Agrology’s existing platform, combining the power of IoT, machine learning and AI to offer comprehensive environmental monitoring. By providing precise measurements of N₂O levels, Agrology empowers farmers with the tools needed to implement more sustainable practices and contribute to global climate goals.
Agrology continues to innovate and expand its offerings, reinforcing its commitment to supporting farmers and promoting sustainable agriculture. The introduction of N₂O sensors is a testament to its dedication to addressing the challenges of climate change and enhancing the agricultural sector’s resilience and sustainability.