Carbon Goes Deep

Yolo County

By Aleta George

Many Yolo County farmers and ranchers are keenly aware of climate shifts and actively involved in GHG reduction strategies. Scott and Karen Stone run Yolo Land & Cattle, a 7,500-acre ranch that lies partly in the Blue Ridge Berryessa Natural Area. The Stones have planted riparian areas and hedgerows for carbon sequestration, use solar water pumps to reduce GHGs, and manage a 400-acre conservation easement for Swainson’s hawk on their irrigated pastureland. In the Capay Valley, Fully Belly Farm is participating with several other California farmers in a study of an organic, no-till vegetable production system to capture and retain the most possible carbon in the soil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and produce healthier soils and more nutritious crops. “By not disturbing the soil, the whole soil system behaves very differently,” says Paul Muller, one of the founding owners. To the northeast, River Garden Farm, a family-owned 15,000-acre operation near the Sacramento River, grows rice, walnuts, sunflowers, and corn. “I hope we are moving towards building healthier soils that can store more carbon,” says assistant general manager Dominic Bruno. “It kind-of comes back to preserving a healthy environment for ourselves and for those around us.”

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Background

Full Belly Farm

Yolo Land & Cattle

River Garden Farms Habitat & Wetlands Video

Yolo County Resource Conservation District

California Department of Healthy Soils Program

Hedgerow Farms

Yolo County Resource Conservation District

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About the author

Author and journalist Aleta George writes about the nature, history, and culture of California.

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