Farmer-facing carbon market opportunities have grown in the past six years—going from buzz-worthy to more than two dozen programs available.
Now, a new phase of carbon enrollment has emerged.
“The carbon markets are maturing. The next phase is product-based carbon programs,” says Thad England, director of U.S. strategic accounts with Groundwork BioAg.
Groundwork BioAg has a portfolio of mycorrhizal inoculants branded Rootella, and application of those products—available in dry and liquid formulations—enables growers to be enrolled in Rootella Carbon.
“Crop markets are tough. Revenue streams on the farm aren’t getting wider,” England says. “When I started my career, I wanted to help the largest amount of growers possible. I can some seed, chemical, and fertilizer and help them grow a good crop, but I can’t help them necessarily on a revenue stream standpoint, until now. This is a dawn of a new market for growers.”
Since 2023, the company established Rootella Carbon, which is a four-year enrollment where growers apply a Rootella product, and measurements of soil carbon are taken every year.
“The application cost is going to be roughly in that $10 per acre range. So it’s a four year commitment to spend about 10 bucks an acre,” he says. “What they can expect is a one to four ton sequestration per year. That’s a wide range. So an average, I’m going to be conservative and say that’s one ton which would be a VCU–verified carbon unit, also known as a carbon credit–and that ton is worth about $40.”
The Rootella Carbon program is structured for the company to revenue-share carbon credit sales, and the company covers all measurement expenses.
England says product-based programs provide growers an entry point into a carbon program without requiring a production practice change such as no-till. Instead, they are adding a product application, such as a soil amendment.
“It’s giving an option where a grower who has done a great job doing what they do, but they may not be eligible for other programs right now because of their current practices,” he says.
In all, Rootella products have grown from being applied on 20,000 acres just a few years ago to now being applied on more than 400,000 acres. Groundwork BioAg uses a network or partners and dealers to market their products.
