Working Trees launches first agroforestry carbon project in US
We are beyond excited to announce the launch of our pilot carbon project, with the first oak and pine seedlings planted last week at Lick Skillet Farm in Tennessee! To our knowledge, this represents the first agroforestry (productive trees incorporated into agricultural systems) carbon project in the US. With this milestone, we want to let the world know more about what we are building.
A big step forward on a long journey —
first seedlings in the ground at Lick Skillet Farm.
Our mission
Working Trees' mission is to grow trees where the interests of farmers and the climate overlap. We are starting with silvopasture, a type of agroforestry that involves planting trees on pasture land.
Why agroforestry?
Climate impact: Agroforestry has been identified as the largest agricultural climate solution (Project Drawdown), having similar greenhouse gas mitigation potential as rooftop solar. Silvopasture is a gigaton-scale climate solution that we know how to deploy today.
Farmer economic impact: In the US, the majority of the potential area suitable for reforestation is found on privately-held pastureland, located mostly in the southeast (TNC ReforestationHub). Farmers are vital partners to scale this promising climate solution. But the median farm in the US struggles to breakeven, typically subsidizing the operation with off-farm income (USDA). Fortunately, agroforestry supports core farm profitability. Take livestock producers: providing access to natural shade improves animal growth rate by reducing heat stress. Similarly, many species of trees produce nutritious and bountiful fodder, offsetting the cost of purchasing hay (often the largest expense for cattle operations). The arrival of carbon markets now provides a meaningful additional revenue stream for farmers making the shift. Taken together, there is now an economic case for agroforestry.
The world needs urgent climate action, sufficient food, and strong communities. With agroforestry, we believe these goals are not in conflict; the interests of farmers and the climate overlap.
The potential for reforestation in America is concentrated on privately-owned pastureland in the broader southeast (Source: TNC’s ReforestationHub.org)
Our work
We work to build on this alignment and address the barriers that have prevented agroforestry from scaling.
Despite the numerous and significant benefits, agroforestry adoption is incredibly low - only about ~1.5% of farms practice agroforestry (USDA). There are real reasons why agroforestry hasn't taken off (stay tuned for another post on this topic), and one of these is cash flow -- it costs money now to plant trees while the benefits come years in the future. At Working Trees, we are addressing this cash flow issue by making it easy for farmers of all sizes to participate in carbon markets for the first time. We have developed a technology that dramatically reduces the cost of running a carbon project by leveraging smartphone sensors (camera and LiDAR), satellite remote sensing data, and machine learning models. At the same time, we provide upfront financing for silvopasture deployment, and can offer reliable off-take from carbon credit buyers by aggregating farmers.
Our vision
We imagine a world where every farmer is a carbon farmer. We see a future where we (collectively) reforest America and the world by staying focused on where the interests of farmers and the climate overlap. If you're excited by this vision -- as a farmer or landowner, carbon credit buyer, or potential team member -- we would love to hear from you.