By Susana Diaz-Amaya
Climate change is a pressing challenge for humankind with a significant impact on global food security. And when it comes to feeding thet world, healthy soil is key. For Bayer, regenerative agriculture is an outcome-based production model with the core goal of improving soil health, strengthening climate resilience, optimizing water use, and maintaining biodiversity. All this, while increasing yields to improve the economic and social well-being of farmers and their communities.
Public-Private Collaborations to Unlock Regenerative Agriculture at Scale
A U.S. snapshot
- Building a National Soil Carbon Map Together: Imagine a map revealing hidden carbon reserves in our soil. Bayer is working on that! Partnering with The Soil Inventory Project (TSIP), our collaboration will combine existing data with citizen science contributions from soil sampling kits. This, along with remote sensing technology, will create a decentralized national carbon inventory to guide the development of regenerative practices tailored to specific regions.
- Field Trials Validate Regenerative Practices: Practices like cover-cropping and reduced tillage sound promising, but how effective are they? To quantify it, Bayer has partnered with Kansas State University as the lead institution and the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (FFAR), on long-term sustainability trials. These trials will track the impact of practices on carbon sequestration, soil health, and water dynamics. Publicly available data will validate their effectiveness and inform future recommendations for farmers.
- Data-Driven Solutions Empower Farmers: Knowledge is power, especially for farmers. Another winning collaboration among Bayer, FFAR, and The Ohio State University, investigates the impact of regenerative practices on soil organic and inorganic carbon sequestration. By analyzing private farmlands, researchers aim to directly connect changes in soil carbon to specific actions taken by farmers and identify the most effective practices per region.
Beyond the U.S.
“Tropicalization” of Predictive Tools: Collaborating with 2000 farmers and 47 leading researchers, Bayer is delivering the largest tropical agriculture carbon soil database with the goal of tailor-developed models for tropical agriculture. Bayer’s guided recommendation module facilitates the creation of effective management plans for maximized soil carbon sequestration and CO2 emission reduction. In collaboration with Embrapa, Bayer has enabled:
- Predictive Models: The PRO Carbono Model (PROCS), predicts soil carbon stocks using a robust dataset (300,000+ soil samples) and ML algorithms from the Climate FieldView platform.
- Carbon Footprint Calculators: (Footprint PRO Carbono) featuring parameters calibrated for the 0-30 cm soil layer under Brazil’s tropical and subtropical conditions (thoroughly validated and verified for soybean and corn).
Recognizing that farmers are our single greatest asset for generating soil carbon, Bayer has developed new business models that will help to ensure their participation far and wide. Our global approach is designed to reach farms of all sizes. After all, no matter how many hectares they manage, all farmers should reap the benefits of removing carbon from the atmosphere. Click here to learn more about them.
Contact person:
Susana Diaz-Amaya
Head of Innovation, Bayer at Convergence
IFIs Portfolio Manager
R&D | International & Multilateral Affairs, Bayer