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How does CO2-optimized wheat cultivation work and what opportunities does it offer for farmers? Answers were provided at the Weekly Field Edge Conversations.
BASF supports measures for climate protection in agriculture with 40 to 90 €/ha of wheat as part of the ClimatePartner Agriculture project. Projects like this provide an incentive for many farmers to make investments and additional efforts. The question remains open as to how farmers can credit their climate protection services to the CO2 balance of their own industry.
Regulatory constraints, as well as customer demand, force companies to continuously reduce their CO2 footprint. One important way to achieve this is by avoiding emissions. If this is not possible or very difficult, so-called CO2 certificates come into play. In simple terms, companies can use these certificates to offset a portion of their emissions. BASF aims to harness the significant savings potential in agriculture and help farmers save resources.
Many of the emission reduction potentials for farmers are associated with risks and/or high investments. Nevertheless, many farmers are interested in CO2-optimized cultivation, if only because lower fertilizer use combined with higher fertilizer efficiency can save money over the years. BASF acts as an intermediary between companies demanding CO2 certificates and farmers who can earn money with their storage capabilities.
BASF is currently focusing on wheat cultivation in the project. This is thematically suitable as a large Scandinavian bakery is one of the largest customers of the certificates. Depending on the number and quality of measures implemented, farmers can receive up to 50 €/ha on top of the guaranteed base payment of 40 €/ha for wheat. Examples of such measures include the use of stabilized fertilizers, nitrogen fertilizers with reduced climate impact, and the use of biofuels.
Farmers Joseph Allendorf and Jonas Fisch are BASF ClimatePartner farmers. They explained their motivation for participating in the project at field discussions on their farms. The ClimatePartner payments have opened up further opportunities for farmers to reduce their CO2 footprint while remaining economically viable.
Paid measures only have a positive effect on the climate if they would not have been implemented without the funds from certificates. Therefore, farmers who want to become Climate Partners must show data from previous years to demonstrate that the supported measures are newly established.
The participants of the field discussions also positively noted that annual soil samples are included in the project, which farmers can also use for their own purposes. The determined humus content does not determine the remuneration of farmers, unlike in similar projects. This improves predictability and prevents dependence on external factors.
Product specialists from the fertilizer spreader division of Amazone raised concerns in Nottuln regarding the different qualities of fertilizers affecting distribution. They recommend regularly checking distribution and sending fertilizer samples to the manufacturer to achieve the best possible settings.
