How Regenerative Pasture Stores Carbon: Roots, Rotation and the Numbers

Carbon storage in pasture works like a ledger. Carbon comes in through photosynthesis, stays in roots and soil organic matter, and leaves when soil is plowed or left bare. REP Provisions farms to grow the first two columns, and this guide follows the carbon with the numbers attached.

Quick answer: Regenerative pasture stores carbon because living plants pull carbon dioxide from the air and build it into roots and soil organic matter. In a typical Oklahoma spring, an acre of grassland holds about 1,000 pounds of plant mass above ground and as much as 3,500 pounds of roots in the top foot of soil. Soil organic matter is about 58% carbon, and REP Provisions plans each herd's grazing by timing, frequency and duration so the cycle keeps running.

Carbon Comes In Through the Leaf and Stays in the Root

A living plant captures carbon through photosynthesis, which is why REP Provisions keeps living plants growing in its soil for as long as possible [1]. Roots carry that carbon below ground. Larry York of the Noble Research Institute describes roots as built from the carbon a plant captures, and he notes that dead roots feed soil microbes, worms and insects in ways that are fundamental to creating and storing soil carbon [2]. His Oklahoma figures set the scale: in spring, one acre of grassland holds about 1,000 pounds of standing shoot mass above ground and as much

 as 3,500 pounds of roots in the top foot of soil [2].

Soil Organic Matter Is the Storage Account

Soil organic matter is where the carbon is held, and the organic matter itself is about 58% carbon [3]. REP Provisions holds that regenerative agriculture stores more carbon in the soil over time [4], because its practices keep adding organic matter: roots that stay alive, soil that stays covered and ground that stays undisturbed [1]. Tilling and other physical disturbance release stored carbon back into the atmosphere, which is why minimizing soil disturbance is one of the five principles REP Provisions farms by [1].

Cover crops show the effect in the data. A Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) review reports that legume cover crops raised soil organic matter by 8% to 114% and non-legume cover crops such as grasses and brassicas by 4% to 62% [3].

Planned Grazing on REP Provisions Ranches

Animals complete the cycle. On REP Provisions ranches, each herd's grazing is planned around timing, frequency and duration, and the herd fertilizes and aerates the soil with its hooves [5]. The pigs add their own work: they till the topsoil as they forage, which REP says increases native grass growth [6]. REP Provisions states that it holds quantitative data showing it is enhancing soil health and sequestered carbon on its land [5].

Two peer-reviewed studies put numbers on the grazing side. University of Georgia researchers, publishing in Nature Communications in 2015, measured soil carbon accumulating at up to 8 metric tons per hectare per year, about 3.6 US tons per acre, on former cropland converted to management-intensive grazing [7]. A Michigan State team, publishing in Agricultural Systems in 2018, combined four years of on-farm soil carbon data from adaptive multi-paddock grazing with a life cycle analysis of beef finishing. Their result: the soil carbon fully offset the grazing system's emissions, which makes that finishing system a potential net carbon sink [8].

Converting Carbon to Carbon Dioxide

Carbon and carbon dioxide sit on different scales, and the conversion is the ratio of their molecular weights, 44 to 12, or about 3.67. The University of Georgia rate of 8 metric tons of carbon per hectare adds up to 3.24 metric tons of carbon per acre per year, which equals about 11.9 metric tons of carbon dioxide. A typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year [9], so one acre at that rate matches the annual emissions of about 2.6 vehicles. That rate is the top of the reported range, measured on cropland in its first years as pasture.

Four details make any carbon claim readable: the units, the soil depth, the number of sampling years and the comparison land. REP Provisions applies the same standard to its own claims, with Audubon certification on its home ranch (see how DoubleP earned it) and published lab results on its beef.

Carbon Is One Column in a Bigger Ledger

REP Provisions treats carbon as one measure of a living system, alongside water, biodiversity and food [10]. The same practices that build soil carbon also hold water: the Georgia study reported soil that held 34% more water and 95% more nutrients after six years [7], and our water retention guide follows that thread. The practices also feed wildlife. Every REP Provisions box sold sows 100 milkweed plants for monarch butterflies through the ONE FOR 100 initiative [6]. For the rest of the soil story, see our guides to why we farm regeneratively and soil health and the nutrients in meat.

Key Takeaways

• Living roots move atmospheric carbon into soil, and an Oklahoma acre of grassland holds up to 3,500 pounds of them
• Soil organic matter is about 58% carbon
• REP Provisions plans grazing by timing, frequency and duration and minimizes soil disturbance
• Research reports soil carbon gains of up to 8 metric tons per hectare per year under management-intensive grazing
• One acre at that rate matches the yearly emissions of about 2.6 passenger vehicles

Frequently Asked Questions

How does REP Provisions contribute to carbon sequestration through their farming practices?

REP Provisions plans grazing around timing, frequency and duration so deep-rooted plants stay alive and the soil stays covered and undisturbed. Living roots move atmospheric carbon into the soil as organic matter, and REP Provisions states that it holds quantitative data showing enhanced sequestered carbon.

What uses regenerative agriculture for improving soil health?

Regenerative agriculture uses rotational grazing, cover cropping, crop rotation and reduced tillage to build soil organic matter. REP Provisions farms by five principles: soil armor, minimal disturbance, biodiversity, living roots and integrated animals.

How much carbon is in soil organic matter?

About 58%, according to a review by Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE). REP Provisions pastures build soil organic matter through living roots and managed grazing.

How many pounds of roots does an acre of pasture hold?

In a typical Oklahoma spring, an acre of grassland holds about 1,000 pounds of shoots and as much as 3,500 pounds of roots in the top foot of soil, according to the Noble Research Institute. REP Provisions pastures keep those roots alive through managed grazing.

Taste the result in the Starter Box or browse the Butcher Block collection. Beef, pork and chicken from REP Provisions come from land managed to keep carbon in the ground.

References

1. ↑ REP Provisions, "5 Principles of Regenerative Agriculture Explained": repprovisions.com
2. ↑ Larry York, Noble Research Institute, "Why Roots Matter to Soil, Plants and You" (Strip-Till Farmer, 2018): striptillfarmer.com
3. ↑ SARE, "Cover Crops at Work: Increasing Soil Organic Matter": sare.org
4. ↑ REP Provisions, "Regenerative Agriculture: 10 Things to Know": repprovisions.com
5. ↑ REP Provisions, "Restoring America's Grasslands and the Power of Grazers": repprovisions.com
6. ↑ REP Provisions, Pasture-Raised Uncured Smoked Ham product page: repprovisions.com
7. ↑ University of Georgia CAES Field Report, coverage of Machmuller et al., Nature Communications (2015): fieldreport.caes.uga.edu
8. ↑ International Livestock Research Institute, coverage of Stanley et al., Agricultural Systems (2018): ilri.org
9. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Typical Passenger Vehicle": epa.gov
10. ↑ REP Provisions, "Carbon Tunnel Vision": repprovisions.com