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Protecting data in carbon markets
Partner companies WinField United and Truterra are working with retailers to help farmers participating in carbon markets protect their data.
Brett Bruggeman is the president of WinField United.
“We use our data silo, which is a process we use to make sure data stays in the growers’ hands, but the data can also be released based on what the grower wants to have happen with that data to turn it into a valuable insight,” he says.
He tells Brownfield that allows the company to be an aggregator of data for retailers and, ultimately, farmers.
“We say we want to be the aggregator of data which allows us to help our retail owners aggregate carbon credits,” he says. “We know without the science and without the data it’s hard to expand or develop this market, so that’s our centerpiece to how we go to market.”
Bruggeman says there are several questions farmers should consider.
“You need to ask where your data is going and what is the motive of that data,” he says. “Then ask, what are the methods they’re using to quantify or measure it. Third, how long (of a contract) are you signing up for and does your landlord have the same understanding. There are a lot of questions, and we actually sit down with our retailer owners and encourage them to have that conversation with their grower because it’s much like a consultative seed selection.”
WinField United, a customer-owned wholesale supplier of crop protection inputs, seed, and crop nutrients, is a Land O’Lakes company. Truterra is the sustainability business and subsidiary of Land O’Lakes.
TruCarbon, Truterra’s carbon program, helps farmers generate and sell carbon credits to private-sector buyers. It finalized and released its first round of carbon payments in November and launched its 2022 carbon program in December. This year, Truterra says it will offer two approaches: one to reward recent adopters for their investment in carbon sequestration and one to engage and support farmers implementing new practices.
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Audio: Brett Bruggeman
