The U.S. Department of Agriculture has granted $591,000 to Carbon Chicken, a sustainable agriculture enterprise. This funding will support a 5-year initiative that aims to introduce carbon-negative agricultural practices in Northwest Arkansas and select areas in Oklahoma. The project is intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the region.
This year, the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s innovation grants funded 53 awards, including the Carbon Chicken project. The project, which is also called Carbon Negative Chicken Farming, involves Soil Regen’s Dr. Liz Haney, Regen Ag Labs, Beyond Description Farm, Curva & Associates, and four farm operations located in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Jody Hardin, CEO of Carbon Chicken Project and Carbon Negative Chicken Farming project director, expressed gratitude towards U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for the transformative investment made by the USDA in the use of biochar and carbon-negative agricultural innovation in their region.
According to Hardin, the allocation of funds will not only boost farm income and resilience but will also incentivize private investments in the carbon-negative farming industry. This will help to expand carbon sequestration, promote soil health and biodiversity, and repair ecological damage within the Illinois River Watershed farming region.
Arkansas farmer Hardin has developed Carbon Chicken, a combination of 80% chicken litter and 20% biochar. This innovative blend can help reduce water pollution, upcycle waste, promote soil health, and also sequester carbon, resulting in lower CO2 emissions. Hardin, who comes from a family of farmers that spans five generations, has been researching the advantages of carbon sequestration for ten years. He believes that this approach can help farmers adopt more regenerative practices.
According to the USDA, biochar is a solid substance rich in carbon that is produced by partially combusting organic waste material or biomass in the presence of limited oxygen.
Toua Yang, one of the four farmers involved in the project, expressed his excitement about the game-changing impact it will have on their community. According to him, the project offers practical solutions to the challenge of poultry waste while also helping them improve their soil quality and grow better crops.
According to the Carbon Negative Chicken Farming Project, their focus is on supporting underserved farmers in the region. They allocate more than 70% of their project funds towards providing cash stipends, trees, biochar, technical support, plants, seeds, and labor to these farmers.
Dr. William McCoy, an advisor and investor of the Carbon Negative Chicken Farming Project, hailed it as not only innovative but also essential. He believes that the project is setting an example of sustainable agriculture that can be emulated in the region and beyond.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, agriculture contributes to 11% of the greenhouse gas emissions and electricity end use in the country, with more than half of these emissions attributed to animal emissions. This estimation was made in 2023.