A recent survey showed that only 5% of US farmers, who plant cover crops on their farmland, are motivated to do so by carbon sequestration.
The survey results were published in a report by Purdue University and CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.
Today, over half of the country’s farms have cover crops, according to the data presented in this report.
However, while the number of farmers that practice planting cover crops has been steadily rising, the main motivators cited were “improving soil health” (37%) and “improving erosion control” (33%).
The rather low importance attributed to CO2 capture by farmers can be indicative of insufficient financial incentives and high carbon measurement costs.
Read more: Agriculture Giants Entice Farmers To Sequester CO2 Emissions