Increasing Soil Organic Matter is Key to Climate Resiliency and Sustainability for Farmers

By Jody Hardin, CEO, Carbon Chicken Project LLC and Fifth-Generation Farmer

As a fifth-generation farmer from the little town of Grady (southeast delta of Arkansas), I've

seen firsthand the importance of healthy soil in my nearly six decades of first hand

observations. I’ve learned from my ancestors that its the foundation of our food system and a

critical component of a healthy environment. One of the most important indicators of soil

health is the amount of Soil Organic Matter (SOM) it contains. SOM is the living and

decaying matter in soil, and it plays a vital role in soil fertility, water retention, and carbon

sequestration. Moreover, it is becoming apparent that farmers who take action locally to

reverse this trend will be way ahead of those who deny this key national fact.

Unfortunately, SOM levels have been declining in the US and around the world since

industrial ag offered farmers cheap options like urea and DAP. This trend is increasing at an

alarming rate due to major factors like intensive agriculture, deforestation, urbanization, and

climate change. This decline has serious implications for farmers and the environment, as

well as consumers who will increasingly pay a higher cost for food as productive ag lands

begin to shrink in the future.

The Link Between Climate Change and SOM Decline

Climate change is exacerbating the decline in SOM in several ways:

● Increased Temperatures: Higher temperatures accelerate the decomposition of

organic matter in the soil, leading to a loss of SOM.

● Changes in Rainfall Patterns: More intense rainfall events can lead to soil erosion,

washing away topsoil and the organic matter it contains. Droughts can also reduce

plant growth, limiting the input of organic matter into the soil.

● Extreme Weather Events: More frequent and severe droughts, floods, and wildfires

can damage soil health and reduce SOM levels.

● Heavy rain events on hard crusted soil causes increased sheeting, leading to

frequent rural community flooding events as well as losses of expensive fertilizers

due to leaching, which is causing algal blooms downstream of farmlands

The Benefits of Increasing SOM

Increasing SOM is critical for building climate resilience on farms. Here's how:

● Improved Water Retention: As the NRCS points out, a 1% increase in SOM can

increase water holding capacity by up to 16,500 gallons per acre. This is crucial in

times of drought, as it helps to maintain soil moisture and reduce the need for

irrigation.

● Enhanced Nutrient Cycling: SOM provides essential nutrients for plants, reducing the

need for synthetic fertilizers.

● Increased Carbon Sequestration: Soil can act as a significant carbon sink, helping to

mitigate climate change. Increasing SOM helps to store more carbon in the soil,

reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

● Improved Soil Structure: SOM helps to improve soil structure, making it more

resistant to erosion and compaction.

How to Increase SOM

There are several existing practices farmers can adopt to increase SOM:

● No-Till Farming: Reduces soil disturbance and helps to maintain soil structure.

● Cover Cropping: Planting diverse cover crops between cash crops helps to protect

the soil and add organic matter.

● Crop Rotation: Diversifying crops helps to improve soil health and increase SOM.

● Composting: Adding compost to the soil is a great way to increase SOM.

● Managed Grazing: Carefully managing livestock grazing can help to improve soil

health and increase SOM.

A New Way to Increase SOM– An Engineered Tool by the Carbon Chicken

Project team

Introducing Carbon Chicken 80:20.

The Carbon Chicken Project Team have discovered one of the most effective ways to quickly

increase SOM is to utilize a biologically advanced, Carbon infused, compost based

pelletized soil conditioner. And since nothing was on the market like this, we invented a

process to manufacture our revolutionary product and it is ready to hit the market. Until

CC80:20 was released earlier this year, there has been no product like this available to

farmers. This blended product contains 20 percent biochar, which is a highly porous Carbon

material that can absorb moisture and remains permanent in the soil for centuries that

significantly enhances nutrient cycling for plants. However, 80 percent of the product is

made up of nutrient rich composted poultry litter, which is a rich source of organic matter with

a NPK range of 3-2-2.

When applied to the soil, Carbon Chicken 80:20 helps to improve soil structure, increase

water holding capacity, retain nutrients, and enhance nutrient cycling, especially in poor

soils. It also helps to sequester carbon in the soil by increasing root mass (since our

CC80:20 is also inoculated with soil microbiology that encourage larger mycorrhizal root

zones), further cooling the Earth and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Benefits of Using Carbon Chicken 80:20

● Quick Results: Carbon Chicken 80:20 ( a soil conditioner that has short and long

term benefits) can quickly increase SOM levels (over 3 to 5 year period), even on

degraded soils, immediately reversing SOM decline where it is applied to the land.

● Long-lasting Benefits: The biochar in Carbon Chicken 80:20 is stable and will remain

in the soil for many years, providing long-lasting benefits.

● Improved Soil Health: Carbon Chicken 80:20 improves soil health in a number of

ways, including increasing soil fertility, reducing erosion, and improving water

retention.

● Cost-effective: Carbon Chicken 80:20 is a cost-effective way to increase SOM and

qualifies for NRCS cost share under CPS 336 and others.

● Carbon Credit revenue from 3rd Party programs like Indigo Ag

How to Apply Carbon Chicken 80:20

Carbon Chicken 80:20 can be applied to the soil using a variety of methods, including

broadcasting, precision application, top dressing or injecting. The application rate and costs

will vary depending on the desired results.

Conclusion

Increasing SOM is a critical step towards building climate resilience on farms. By adopting

practices that promote soil health, farmers can improve their yields, reduce their

environmental impact, and help to mitigate climate change. At Carbon Chicken Innovation

Farm, we are committed to increasing SOM on our land and helping other farmers do the

same. Carbon Chicken 80:20 is a powerful tool that can help farmers quickly and easily

increase SOM levels on their land. By using this product, farmers can improve their soil

health, increase their yields, and reduce their environmental impact all while securing crop

production and resiliency for future generations of farmers.

Disclaimer: I am the co-founder and CEO of Carbon Chicken Project, as well as a fifth

generation farmer who is passionate about regenerative agriculture...and I am heavily biased

in favor of our new product we have invented and developed for farmers and gardeners. It is

my strong belief that Carbon Chicken 80:20 soil conditioner is a regenerative farming game

changer that can help farmers build climate resilience, reduce irrigation expenses over time,

increase CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity) so plants can uptake more nutrients that were

previously locked up. Our powerful selection of soil microbes, some of which are

extremophiles, as well as humic acid, can wake up soil that has been depleted of biology

caused by long term application of synthetic fertilizers made from expensive fossil fuels

--that do not return organic matter to the soil. We believe that by adopting Carbon Chicken

80:20 as part of an annual routine application, (over a three year period with 1 ton per acre

application rate), we can regenerate soil organic matter by a half to 1 percent. And according

to NRCS, for every 1 percent increase in soil organic matter we increase the soil’s water

holding capacity by as much a s 16,500 gallons per acre. - Jody Hardin, [email protected] www.carbonchicken.com

Carbon Chicken Project, LLC

#Soilcarbon #regenerative #carbonchicken

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