Farm406

51 farm406 Montana Improved Grazing Project e Montana Improved Grazing Project was conceived five years ago by Native Energy, a national Vermont-based carbon offset organization, and Western Sustainability Exchange (WSE), a Montana non-profit that works with ranchers to improve management practices on their land to improve soil health. "Native Energy approached us because of our leadership in intensive grazing management, soil health monitoring, and cell grazing as well as our network of producers. ey proposed that we do a commercial validation study where we would see if a carbon market for livestock producers in Montana was viable," Chris Mehus, Ranching Program Director for WSE told me. "We looked at 50 different sites at about ten operations throughout the region. We found that by improving grazing practices we could capture carbon and keep it there." rough the project, three things are projected to happen: CO2 will be sequestered in the ground, soil health will improve making rangelands more productive, and participating ranchers will have another source of income. According to the 2017 Montana Climate Assessment, the state of Montana will continue to warm in all geographic locations, seasons, and under all modeled global emission Roger Indreland shows the sprayer he uses to add soil amendments to his pastures. Roger and Betsy Indreland are one of the first ranches to enroll in Western Sustainability Exchange's Montana Improved Grazing Project, the first of its kind in the United States.

• Cover