Carbon Farm Planning
Global Carbon imbalance, increased strain on Water systems, declining soil health, and a growing movement for locally produced, healthy food has created a ripe opportunity to grow the Regenerative Agriculture movement along Colorado’s Front Range. Mad Agriculture founder Phil Taylor has the vision to restore vitality to farming through community building and innovative approaches to cultivating food and interacting with the land. Carbon Farming combines ecology and farming techniques to rebuild healthy soils, remove carbon from the atmosphere, increase water retention, and improve yields. This group will work with Mad Agriculture to assist local farmers in creating Carbon Farm Plans and build a framework for future adoption of carbon farming. Navigating the uncharted territory of regenerative agriculture in the Front Range will involve a Systems Thinking approach to integrate best practice, ecological context, economic constraints, and an evolving policy landscape. Support and collaboration from groups like the Carbon Cycle Institute, Fibershed, and the National Resources Conservation Service, will allow students to engage with an array of stakeholders at local, regional, and national scale. Mad Agriculture hosts monthly Farm Forums at Altona Grange to engage the farming community on a variety of topics, including Carbon Farming. In the late 19th Century, small farmers throughout the United States built Grange Halls to support each other against the coming power of Industrial Agriculture. After a lapse of involvement, Boulder County farmers and community members are once again joining together in Altona Grange to restore and support healthy local food and wise land use.