The Sustainable Agroecosystems Lab at The Ohio State University, Departments of Horticulture & Crop Science and Animals Sciences is seeking farmers to participate in an on-farm soil assessment to evaluate soil carbon sequestration under perennial pasture fields and annual crops fields.
Project description: This is a multi-state and multi-institution $15 million project led by researchers at the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center (CMASC) at The Ohio State University. Different soil management practices and uses are being assessed in 17 states for their impact on soil carbon stocks. This research will provide on-farm data to farmers, stakeholders and policymakers on the importance of soil carbon farming practices to mitigate climate change.
As part of the project, our lab is focusing on how perennial forages, for grazing or hay, and annual crops, such as corn and soybean, affect soil carbon stocks and sequestration. We are looking to compare fields under long-term use as perennial forage or to a nearby long-term field under annual crops (corn-soybean rotations), in different regions across Ohio.
Farmer participation in the project is to provide historical information about field management (tillage, fertilization rates, manure application, crop rotation) and allow the research team to perform soil sampling collection during Fall 2023 and Fall 2025. If your farm specializes in only one crop type (i.e. only perennial forages), we can work with a neighbor for the annual crop field used for the comparison.
If you are interested in collaborating with us, please reach out to our team.
Marilia Chiavegato, chiavegato.1@osu.edu, (614) 625-7512
Ricardo Ribeiro, ribeiro.30@osu.edu, (614) 736-9321