WASHINGTON — A new online tool, called COMET-FARM, lets farmers calculate how much carbon their conservation actions can remove from the atmosphere.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the free tool in a June 5 address at the National Press Club in Washington.
As a collaboration among USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Colorado State University and USDA’s Climate Change Program Office, COMET-FARM will also help producers calculate and understand how land management decisions impact energy use and carbon emissions.
COMET-FARM works like this:
Producers enter information about their land and management using a secure online interface — including location, soil characteristics, land uses, tillage practices and nutrient use.
Only the producer has access to data inputs and the information calculated by the tool.
The tool then estimates carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emission reductions associated with conservation practices for cropland, pasture, rangeland, livestock operations and energy.
COMET-FARM is applicable to all agricultural lands in the lower 48 states. The tool is available for use at www.comet-farm.com.