Loading...

Regenerative Grazing to Mitigate Climate Change (2021-2022)

The 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirmed that previous climate change predictions were drastic underestimates and warming must be capped at 1.5 degrees to avoid extreme climate disruptions. Fortunately, there is potential for agriculture, representing 13.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, to cut its emissions and store additional carbon dioxide in soil.

Cattle are the largest contributor to agriculture emissions, but recent research shows promising results for pasture-based carbon sequestration as a climate solution in the southeastern United States. Regenerative grazing provides carbon sequestration as well as social benefits, such as rural economic development and resilience-building. This team investigated mechanisms to fund and support the expansion of regenerative grazing practices through policy interventions and carbon offsets.

Timing

Fall 2021 – Spring 2022

Team Outputs

It's Not the Cow, It's the How: New Agro-Ecological Approaches to Livestock Management (2022 Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Virtual Showcase)

Regenerative Grazing to Mitigate Climate Change: It's Not the COW, It's the HOW (poster by Francesca Chiappetta, Laura Mindlin, Lydie Costes, Megan Mason Dister, Alix Foster, Abby Martell, Eric Mullen, Addie Navarro, Marco Paternoster and Margaret Reed, presented at Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase, Duke University, April 13, 2022)

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

Team Leaders

  • Matthew Arsenault, Duke Carbon Offsets Initiative
  • Emma Fulop, Duke Carbon Offsets Initiative
  • Daniel Miller, Duke Law
  • Michelle Nowlin, Duke Law

Graduate Team Members

  • Francesca Chiappetta, Environmental Economics/Policy
  • Lydie Costes, Forest Resource Management-MF; Environ Science & Conservation
  • Megan Dister, Juris Doctor
  • Alix Foster, Business and Environment
  • Kacey Katzenmeyer, Business and Environment
  • Abby Martell, Business and Environment
  • Laura Mindlin, Environmental Economics/Policy
  • Addie Navarro, Water Resources Management-MEM
  • Marco Paternoster, Juris Doctor

Undergraduate Team Members

  • Margaret Reed, Interdepartmental
  • Stephon Ricks, Computer Science (BS)

Community Team Members

  • Jennifer Curtis, Firsthand Foods
  • Alan Franzluebbers, North Carolina State University
  • Laura Lengnick, Cultivating Resilience, LLC
  • Michelle Lovejoy, NC Foundation on Soil and Water Conservation
  • David Mullen, Undergraduate Student, NC State University
  • Andrea Padillio Guerroro, Undergraduate Student, NC State University
  • Matt Poore, North Carolina State University
  • Nick Wood, Carolina Farm Stewardship Association

Team Contributors

  • David Johnston, Nicholas School of the Environment: Marine Science and Conservation
  • Daniel Richter, Nicholas School of the Environment: Environmental Sciences and Policy
  • Elizabeth Shapiro-Garza, Nicholas School of the Environment: Environmental Sciences and Policy
  • Jennifer Swenson, Nicholas School of the Environment: Environmental Sciences and Policy