Working Trees is a company that provides an easy way to measure and sell the carbon stored in silvopasture and hay alley cropping systems (more practices to come). We have launched the first agroforestry carbon project in the US.

Our technology uses data collected through a smartphone and satellite imagery to allow farmers, ranchers, and landowners of any acreage to finally get paid for storing carbon.

Working Trees is actively enrolling farmers and ranchers into the continental United States.

Silvopasture is an intentional and integrated tree-forage-livestock system. Trees are managed for the long-term economic returns, while the livestock generates annual income. Silvopasture is one of the oldest agricultural land use practices in human history and a major climate solution. According to Project Drawdown, silvopasture could expand over 200 million hectares globally and reduce a gigaton of carbon dioxide a year until 2050

Working Trees makes money when you do; we sell carbon credits to corporate partners looking to make a substantial climate impact. In order to run the business, Working Trees requires 25% of all revenue from these carbon credit sales after accounting for certification and buffer pool-associated costs.

We can operate in any state east of the Great Plains.

We have full coverage in: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin.

We have partial coverage in: Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas.

The program is a thirty year contractual commitment for landowners. 

Working Trees uses data collected through a smartphone and satellite imagery to allow farmers, ranchers, and landowners of any acreage to finally get paid for storing carbon. This means that any participating farmer needs access to a smartphone.

Unfortunately, pastures with existing silvopasture are not eligible and we only can work with new tree plantings. However, other pastures within the same ranch may still be enrolled so long as they meet all other eligibility criteria.

Simply visit our free land use analysis webpage (https://www.workingtrees.com/landanalysis) to sign up and get a free property analysis.

Shade: Shade reduces heat stress and therefore improves productivity. Studies have shown that access to natural shade can increase average daily gain in calves by over 50% (see more details on our blog ). 

Fodder: Tree fodder can displace hay costs, which can often be the largest expense driver. This is true for a wide variety of tree species, including willow and honey locust. Our partner, Trees for Graziers, has a good discussion on honey locust here. 

Soil health: trees improve nutrient cycling from all layers of the soil and contribute organic matter through litter. Studies have shown that this can improve overall soil organic content and soil health.

Timber products: Working Trees requires a 30 year commitment for any trees that receive carbon credit payments. However, it is possible to harvest after the contract and – for loblolly in particular – there is a way to get partial credit for harvests within the first 30 years.

Soil health: See answer above. Unique to hayland is the importance of external nitrogen application. Nitrogen-fixing tree species can increase the productivity of hayland without external fertilizer application.

Timber products: See above.

No, Working Trees has no minimum enrollment acreage. Our phone app-based technology makes this possible.

The carbon values per acre depend on various characteristics on each farm. Working Trees does not provide a prescriptive approach to our farmer partners, but rather provides farmers the data they need to make informed decisions. Prices can range on over $20 per tonne of carbon dioxide removed and volume can be around 2 tonnes per acre each year starting in the fifth year.

After receiving the data confirming tree planting, Working Trees will provide farmers with any agreed payment within 30 days. If there is no agreed prepayment, carbon payments will occur after measurements at established intervals (first measurement to occur in year 3-5 once trees are large enough to measure).

Working Trees connects farmers with Technical Service Providers (TSPs) that can help them make the most agronomically sound decisions possible for their management goals. Working Trees does not decide which trees are planted, but rather provides farmers with any relevant carbon sequestration forecasts and carbon credit revenue models to make the best decisions they can.

We are happy to connect you with Technical Service Providers near you.

Talk to your local NRCS agent as soon as possible! This is often the bottleneck, so the sooner the process is kicked off, the better.

Working Trees contributes a certain percentage of credits to a dedicated buffer pool in case of these reversals and natural catastrophes. Farmers will not be penalized for any outcomes so long as they comply with the terms and conditions of the program.

You are liable for any payments you have received as part of the Working Trees program. This means you would be responsible for directly compensating the buyer of any carbon credits.

Additional restrictions may apply for other funding sources (e.g., through the United States Department of Agriculture).

TSP stands for Technical Service Provider. Typically, these are individuals that provide consulting and advisor to farmers and ranchers. TSPs should have familiarity with silvopasture and agroforestry and the ability to provide landowners with insight into tree species selection and planting design.

Working Trees builds partnerships with TSPs who can provide support in making the final decisions on what species of trees to plant and where. Sometimes, they can help with sourcing of inputs (seedlings, tree protection) and planting itself.

In some cases, TSPs also share in the carbon revenue.

Depending on the TSP, they can simply provide advice or directly get involved in design, sourcing, and planting.

TSPs with an established track record of working in agroforestry and regenerative agriculture.

Send us a note – contact@workingtrees.com

Yes. In particular, we are building relationships with buyers looking for multi-year contracting agreements.

Three years from planting. All of our project area to-date has been contracted, so we encourage any interested buyers to reach out to discuss options.

Working Trees is looking for mission-aligned buyers that believe technology-verified nature-based removals can play a key role in the path to net zero. In particular, we are looking for additional partners interested in guaranteed purchase agreements. These include both ex-ante (pre-payments for future carbon drawdown) and ex-post (payments for credits only after going through official verification).

Working Trees will register under Verra’s Methodology for Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation Projects (link here). Note this methodology will be released later in 2022, at which time Working Trees will be available to officially register our project.

Working Trees provides full access to project data, including full-auditable ground truth measurements of individual trees (including diameter, height, and species). This helps drive unprecedented transparency and visibility.