Carbon Farming

Overview

Agriculture is part of the climate change solution.

Grasslands are one of the largest carbon sinks on the planet, capable of pulling enormous quantities of CO₂ from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil. Carbon farming is the process of farming and ranching to maximize the land’s ability to lock up CO₂ and other greenhouse gases, making the land more resilient to the effects of a changing climate. MALT partners with MALT farmers and ranchers to implement carbon farming practices, benefiting farmers, their land and the climate.

Our Position

MALT-protected lands include nearly 34,000 acres of grassland, putting MALT and MALT farmers and ranchers in a position to create incredible change. Along with our landowners and other regional partners, MALT has been catalyzing carbon farming in Marin County and has served as a model for California and across the US.

Why It Matters

Converted farmlands are one of the biggest sources of new emissions in California; an estimated 750,000 acres of rangeland will be developed and taken out of agriculture by 2040, resulting in up to 100 times more emissions than from the rangeland it is replacing.

Protecting agricultural land is one of the biggest ways for agriculture to reduce new greenhouse gas emissions. Thanks to MALT conservation easements, MALT farms and ranches will be productive farms forever, without the threat of development.

But protecting farmland is just the first step. MALT plays a critical role in helping farmers and ranchers plan and implement carbon farming practices on the land. In doing so, we are locking up harmful greenhouse gases, making the land more resilient to changing weather patterns and ensuring that farms and ranches continue to thrive into the future.

Thanks to MALT’s permanent protection, our investments in carbon farming will continue delivering long-term results — to the climate, to the land and to the landowners.