Programs

Carbon Offer 2023

Carbon Info

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Trucarbon 2021 results

  • $626,000.00 in real dollars back to our growers

  • 31,000 Metric Tons of CO2 Sequestered

  • #1 Retailer in the United States in this program for $ Returned to our Growers

  • 15% of the total Program dollars went to Local Growers (your neighbors)

  • No restrictions on selling Carbon Credits sequestered in future years

  • Growers now have over 5 years of field history in one place that can be used to help make decisions going forward.


2023 Truterra Carbon Program

Benefits of the 2022 Truterra Carbon Program

  • “Look Back” system allows growers to benefit from changes they have implemented within the last 3 years
  • Reduced longevity contract from 20 years to 5 Years – shortest in the industry today
  • Data entered into the Truterra Sustainability Tool can help growers understand profitability, environmental impact, and soil health impacts of farming practices.
  • No Restrictions on selling future Carbon Credits
  • Real $$ back to the growers for having made improvements

DO I QUALIFY FOR THE 2023 CARBON PROGRAM?

Growers who have made a change from a more intensive tillage practice to a less intensive program (conventional tillage to strip till for example) or have implemented cover crops into their cropping system within the past 3 years are ideal for this program. There are many factors that determine a soil's carbon holding capacity, but these practices have been proven to help the soil sequester and retain more CO2. 

American Plains Co-op growers can apply for the 2023 Truterra® Carbon Offer. This program streamlines the process for growers to receive Carbon Credit dollars from major companies looking to purchase Carbon Offsets. Through American Plains Co-op and Truterra®, growers will provide data showing that an improvement in one of the following practices has been incorporated into their growing operation; reduction in tillage and/or the addition of cover crops within the last 1-3 years.

*There is no penalty for taking the survey and growers are not locked into the program by doing so. 

Learn about Carbon Sequestration

What does CO2 have to do with farming?
Agricultural land has the capacity to sequester and hold CO2 before it can reach the upper atmosphere. Crops absorb CO2 and turn it into a food source through the process of photosynthesis.  The plants also release Oxygen during this process. The longer the soil has a healthy, growing crop or plant on it, the more CO2 it is able to convert from the air, thus the importance of having a cover crop on the field between cash crops.

How does tillage affect CO2 levels in the soil?
Tillage, or disrupting the soil, can cause the loss of significant amounts of carbon, lost as CO2 burst, immediately following the disruption. The exposure of soil organic carbon to aeration during soil erosion increases CO2 lost to the atmosphere. Therefore, by reducing tillage, growers are reducing these CO2 bursts. CO2 is brought to the soil on decomposing plant matter which is broken down into the soil by microorganisms and changed into Soil Organic Carbon which can be held in the soil for many decades.

TRUTERRA™

Utilizing the Truterra Insights Engine™ from Truterra®, American Plains Co-op customers can benchmark current practices that qualify as conservation and environmentally sustainable. This program provides growers with a Sustainability Score. With that score, producers can view optional changes that they might implement to improve the longevity of their farm while also maintaining or increasing profitability across their farm.

Truterra™ provides insights on how acres with a historically negative ROI might qualify for NRCS or State programs. These programs may offer environmentally friendly solutions to provide habitat for pollinators or other wildlife and avoid wasting inputs in areas that are not returning as farm ground. This information can be used to start the conversation with your local NRCS or conservation district.

Truterra™ Insights Engine is the platform used to compile field and farm information for the 2023 Truterra Carbon Program. Growers will work with American Plains Co0op staff to enter their field history to be quantified for this new Carbon Offer.

SUSTAINABILITY

We have a deep understanding that farmers are the original conservationists who naturally practice sustainability each and every day. The producers natural goal is to own land that continues to be profitable now and far into the future. While it may not have always been labeled "sustainable", producers have been utilizing innovative practices for reducing erosion, applying only necessary fertilizer and pesticide, and implementing newly emerging technology such as water probes to reduce water waste for many years. These trends toward innovation not only improve the ROI on an acre, but also naturally increase the longevity of the farm.


AT AMERICAN PLAINS CO-OP, OUR SUSTAINABILITY PROMISE IS:
SUSTAINABILITY IS UNDERSTANDING THAT THE LIVELIHOOD AND PROFITABILITY OF OUR GROWER OWNERS IS IMPERATIVE TO OUR MUTUAL SUCCESS. OUR FOCUS IS ON UTILIZING CONSERVATION, PRECISION, AND INNOVATION TO IMPROVE PROFITABILITY AND LONGEVITY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS, WHILE IMPROVING OUR AFFECT ON THE ENVIRONMENT.