This Bass Connections project aimed to advance sustainable meat production through policy reform and carbon offset funding.

The policy team provided a menu of options for policymakers and advocates on the federal, state and local levels that galvanized adoption of regenerative grazing practices on North Carolina farms. These targeted policy recommendations reward early-adopters – farmers who have already embraced regenerative grazing practices – while addressing barriers to adoption to help new farmers enter the regenerative grazing space.

The protocol team explored new funding streams for farmers interested in adopting regenerative grazing practices. In the project’s inaugural year, team members developed a carbon offset protocol for use through the Offset Network. Team members worked on a demonstration project in partnership with the Triangle Land Conservancy and Newbold Farms to ensure the protocol is accessible to the operations and scale of most North Carolina grazers.

Timing

Fall 2019 – Spring 2020

Team Outputs

Saskia Cornes. Regenerative Grazing to Mitigate Climate Change ($14,787 grant awarded from Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, 2019)

Sustainable Meat Production in NC (Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Virtual Showcase 2020)

Regenerative Grazing NC

Reflections

Bridget Eklund

This Team in the News

Bonnie Joins Biden-Harris Administration in Climate Role at USDA

Carolina Meat Conference

Reflections of the Carolina Meat Conference

See related team, Regenerative Grazing to Mitigate Climate Change (2020-2021).

Image: Rocks and cows, by Bob White, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0