By Andi Anderson
As global carbon emissions climb, researchers are looking for solutions to bring agriculture into the fight against climate change.
Michigan State University scientist Bruno Basso has joined a team of economists and federal experts to propose a new “climate-smart” biofuel policy designed to cut emissions and reward sustainable farm practices.
The team, which includes economists from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of California-Berkeley, and USDA, outlined the proposal in a study published in Science.
The policy would build on existing biofuel markets, such as the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, to provide incentives for farmers who lower the carbon intensity (CI) of their crops through climate-smart practices.
“This policy is about turning farms into drivers of rural prosperity and stewards of our natural resources,” said Basso, a co-author of the study. “By rewarding practices that store carbon in the soil, we can cut emissions, improve soil health and create new revenue streams for farmers and rural communities.”
Practices such as no-till farming, cover cropping, crop rotation, precision agriculture, and emerging tools like biochar could all reduce greenhouse gas emissions and boost soil carbon storage.
These benefits would be factored into farm-specific CI scores, which would in turn shape the value of crops for biofuel markets. Farmers producing low-carbon feedstocks could receive premium prices, while biorefineries would benefit from cleaner supply chains.
Lead author Madhu Khanna emphasized that aligning biofuel policy with sustainable agriculture creates “a win-win scenario for farmers, the environment, and the biofuel industry.”
The policy also calls for long-term contracts between farmers and biorefineries, ensuring consistent adoption of practices while helping stabilize markets.
Basso and his collaborators have developed multimodel ensembles (MMEs) that can more accurately estimate soil carbon changes and greenhouse gas reductions, supporting the system with robust science.
Challenges remain, such as the risk that soil carbon gains may not be permanent or that emissions may shift elsewhere. But the researchers argue that delaying action until perfect solutions exist would be costly.
“Advances in modeling and digital technologies now make it possible to track carbon intensity scores, support farmers economically, and help communities reduce their overall environmental footprint,” Basso said.
The proposal highlights the potential for expansion beyond biofuels to include food, feed, and fiber crops — laying the groundwork for a broader transformation in agriculture.
Basso, a John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor at MSU, conducts his research with support from the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, USDA, and MSU AgBioResearch.
Photo Credit: michigan-state-university-msu
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