New reward unlocked to drive up bottom line for regen farmers
11th May 2023
UK farmers who are currently transitioning to regenerative agriculture or are already farming in an environmentally friendly way are now able to access a new revenue stream through the AgreenaCarbon programme that aims to see producers rewarded for their regenerative efforts.
With BPS being phased out, uncertainty around the ELM schemes, rising energy costs and an unsettled economic climate, a novel opportunity to drive up bottom line is welcome news for British farmers.
“Farmers who are already deploying regenerative farming practices, turning soil into carbon sinks, are able to access a new revenue stream from carbon farming and the sale of carbon certificates, at the same time as improving the economic and sustainability of their farm businesses,” explained Thomas Gent, Agreena’s UK market lead.
Agreena is a carbon farming company that enables farmers to earn carbon certificates, equivalent to one tonne of CO2 emissions removed from the atmosphere, via its soil carbon programme through an easy and intuitive process.
“In fact, farmers can simply send the form they have just completed for their BPS application to Agreena and one of our team will be able to estimate the potential revenue achievable from the sale of carbon certificates following harvest 2023,” Mr Gent added.
The deadline for enrolling in the scheme to receive payments for harvest 2023 is 30th June. Although the process is relatively quick, there are steps that Agreena must carry out to ensure a smooth sale of carbon certificates from this year’s harvest.
Farmers who are interested in the programme can find out more by attending the ‘How to Enrol in a Carbon Programme from data entry to income’ webinar, taking place on Tuesday 16th May 5:00pm-6:00pm. The event is hosted by Agreena and the farming cooperative Fram Farmers, and registrations can be made here.
Explaining more about the scheme, Mr Gent added: “The enrolment process consists of choosing which fields are to be included in the AgreenaCarbon programme, and entering the relevant field data such as field location, size, fertiliser and cover crop usage, etc.
“After harvest, farmers log into the AgreenaCarbon platform and report their actual field data around the date they have provided.”
The programme will then quantify the carbon removed and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and farmers will be issued verified carbon certificates currently valued at £25-50. On average, one hectare can generate between one and two carbon certificates.
Once issued, farmers can choose to keep their certificates, sell them, or ask Agreena to sell them to verified companies on their behalf based on current market demand and prices.
“Farmers who have already started the transition to regenerative farming should not miss out on being financially rewarded for their efforts,” Mr Gent said. “Send Agreena your completed BPS application forms and see the potential revenue available from joining AgreenaCarbon.”
For more information about AgreenaCarbon, visit agreena.com or email thomas.gent@agreena.com.
