Red River Farm Network: Long-Term Land Use Study Shows Carbon Benefit in SD

According to South Dakota Corn Growers Association Executive Director DaNita Murray, previous land-use studies showing carbon sequestration and soil quality fell short do not tell the whole story. A new study funded by the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council looked at land use from 1985-to-2021. Other studies looked at four-to-eight year periods. Flipping back and forth between cropland to CRP to reduced till cropland, had benefits for carbon sequestration. The hope is that this study will be helpful when lawmakers and government officials work on climate policy. “If these models that look at land, like in McPhearson and Brown Counties, continue to show an increase in carbon in the soil, that needs to be taken into account,” said Murray.