Advancing DEI in Sharing Carbon & Ecosystems Services Information
Alliance of Crop, Soil and Environmental Science Societies
Madison, Wisconsin
Carbon Markets Are Growing, But Trusted, Unbiased Information About Them Is Limited
Carbon credits, also known as carbon offsets, are permits that represent the equivalent of one ton of carbon dioxide removed and sequestered from the atmosphere. In the U.S., credits can be purchased or traded through carbon markets. Trusted, unbiased information about these markets and supporting programs are limited. In 2021, the Tri-Societies began building a source for science-based information to assist all populations working in agronomy, crops, soils and agriculture at large to understand and adopt carbon programs that curb climate change emissions and evaluate the science behind practices and markets. The Decode 6 website, launched Nov. 2022, is the result of this effort. FFAR has invested $100,000, with an equivalent match from Tri-Societies, to develop inclusivity and accessibility tools into the website so the information is understandable and accessible to everyone, especially within underserved communities.
This partnership between FFAR and Tri-Societies allows Decode 6 to reach underserved communities that are looking to better understand and leverage opportunities in carbon and ecosystem services markets. But it’s not just a one-way push of educational materials to these communities. Through this partnership, Decode 6 will work directly with individuals in underserved communities to co-create actionable education materials related to carbon, markets and economics, water, nutrients, biodiversity and habitat and climate.
Chris Boomsma
Director of science & strategy for Decode 6
About the Decode 6 Website
The Decode 6 website provides free educational resources in carbon and ecosystem services and their respective markets for the agricultural and environmental sectors. It is named for carbon, the sixth element on the periodic table.
The website covers six key topic areas, including:
- Carbon
- Markets and economics,
- Water
- Nutrients
- Biodiversity and habitat
- Climate
The information is provided in bite-sized, science-based information question-and-answer format. Podcasts, videos and short articles seek to answer the key questions farmers, in-field advisers, agricultural retailers, conservationists, market providers and policymakers need to evaluate today’s opportunities in carbon and ecosystem services practices and markets.
Accessing science-based, unbiased information on emerging carbon markets and programs can often be challenging. FFAR is excited to support Decode 6 in providing equitable access to practical agricultural information and enabling more informed decision-making.
LaKisha Odom, Ph.D.
Scientific Program Director
Sustaining Vibrant Agroecosystems
Why Website Accessibility Is Important?
Website accessibility is the inclusive practice of ensuring there are no barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to, websites by people with physical disabilities, situational disabilities or other impairments or limitations. It ensures the information on a website is accessible to all.
The accessibility features FFAR is supporting for the Decode 6 website include:
- Closed captioning and transcripts for videos and podcasts for the visually and hearing impaired
- language translation services for Latino communities
- Collaboration with 1890s Land-Grant Universities for content development and focused outreach to people of color.
How This Research Contributes to Our Mission
FFAR’s Soil Health Challenge Area supports sustainable on-farm practices from the ground-up, creating innovative solutions to improve soil health from measurement to adoption. FFAR also values and integrates diversity, equity and inclusion into its efforts to ensure our work reaches everyone.
Matching Funders
Decode 6 was founded by the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) and the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), collectively known as the Tri-Societies. FFAR has invested $100,000, with an equivalent match from Tri-Societies, to develop inclusivity and accessibility tools into Decode 6.
ASA is a progressive international scientific and professional society that empowers scientists, educators and practitioners in developing, disseminating and applying agronomic solutions to feed and sustain the world. Based in Madison, ASA is the professional home for over 7,000 members and over 12,000 certified professionals (Certified Crop Advisers) dedicated to advancing the field of agronomy.
CSSA is a progressive international scientific society that fosters the vision to improve the world through crop science. Based in Madison and founded in 1956, CSSA is the professional home for over 4,000 members dedicated to discovering and applying plant science solutions to improve the human condition and protect the planet.
SSSA is a progressive international scientific society that fosters the transfer of knowledge and practices to sustain global soils. Based in Madison and founded in 1936, SSSA is the professional home for over 6,000 members and over 800 certified professionals dedicated to advancing the field of soil science. The organization provides information about soils in relation to crop production, environmental quality, forestry, ecosystem sustainability, bioremediation, waste management, urban uses, mining and reclamation, and across many closely related scientific disciplines and applied fields.
Due to their common interests, ASA, CSSA and SSSA share a cooperative relationship under the management and administrative support services of the Alliance of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science Societies (ACSESS). Each organization is autonomous with its own bylaws and governing boards of directors.
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The Latest
Insights
Our Insights highlight unique perspectives from across the food and agriculture community.
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Cracking the Code of Texture:
Heeduk Oh
FFAR Fellow, NC State University
Entrepreneur Attributes Kirchner HBCU Fellowship to Career Success
Kwame Terra MPH
Kirchner Fellowship HBCU 2021 Cohort
Reducing Enteric Methane Emissions from Dairy Cattle
Dr. Francisco Peñagaricano and Dr. Guillermo Martinez Boggio
Building Diversity & Inclusion in the Agriculture Technology Venture Capital Industry
LaKisha Odom, Ph.D.
Scientific Program Director Sustaining Vibrant Agroecosystems
Unlocking Peanut Potential
Samuele Lamon
FFAR Fellow, University of Georgia
Advancing Ecosystem Service Markets for Sustainable Farming
Feeding Bees Through Diversity
Riley Reed
FFAR Fellow, Washington State University
Precision Agriculture Tools for Livestock Production
Caleb J. Grohmann
FFAR Fellow, University of Missouri
The Next Frontier for Biotechnology & the Future of Forestry
Samantha Surber
FFAR Fellow, University of Georgia
A Place for Everyone in Agriculture
Dr. LaKisha Odom & Jocelyn Hittle
Transforming Agriculture with Data and Artificial Intelligence
Shiang-Wan Chin, FFAR Fellow
Cornell University
Closing the Loop
Madeline Desjardins, FFAR Fellow
Washington State University
Importance of Bacteria in Identifying Bovine Respiratory Disease
Ruth Eunice Centeno Martinez
FFAR Fellow, Purdue University
Let’s Raise a Glass on National Milk Day to the Power of Agriculture Research
Krysta Harden
President and CEO U.S. Dairy Export Council
The Innovation Dilemma: Why Adoption Rates for Agricultural Technologies Lag Behind
Enrique Pena Martinez, FFAR Fellow
Raleigh, North Carolina
Building Team Chemistry: The Bigger Picture Behind Cows & Climate
Conor McCabe
Animal Biology Graduate Student, UC Davis
Insight on Livestock Methane Mitigation
Dr. Rod Mackie, Professor, Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL
Finding a New Way to Control Weeds in Cotton.
Sarah Chu
FFAR Fellow, Texas A&M University
Indigenous Farmers are Leading a “New Green Revolution” Focused on Hemp
James DeDecker, Director, Michigan State University – Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center Mary Donner, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians – Ziibimijwang Farm Executive Director and Tribal Citizen
Filling the Hemp Research Gap
News
The latest news and updates from FFAR.
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FFAR & Eight Member Organizations Commit $8.45 Million to Efficient Fertilizer Consortium
Grant Examines Biopesticides for Hemp Treatment
Grant Developing Tomato Resistance to Parasitic Weed
Grant Develops Cotton-Based Precision Irrigation to Improve Sustainability
FFAR and North Carolina State Announce 2024 FFAR Fellows
Grant Improves Stress Tolerance in Carrots
AgMission Grant Evaluates Successful Incentives for Persistent Cover Crop Adoption
ICASA Award Addresses Antimicrobial Stewardship for Bovine Respiratory Disease
FFAR Grant to Improve Sorghum & Strengthen Nutritional Security
FFAR & FoodShot Global Announce GroundBreaker Prize Winners in Water Research
Swine Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program Funds Additional Research
FFAR Names Sixth Cohort of Veterinary Fellows
Advancing Circular Bioeconomy with Biomass Feedstocks
U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef & FFAR Announce Focus Group Series to Develop Sustainable Beef Research Roadmap
Student Teams Combat Climate Change
FFAR & NWO Launch Greenhouses in Transition & Welcome Proposals
FFAR’s Rapid Response Program Welcomes Avian Flu Research Proposals
AgMission & PepsiCo Grants Bolster Climate-Resilient Farms & Value Chains
AgMission™ Funds Global Youth Consultation to Co-Create Agricultural Solutions with Young Farmers
FFAR Accepting Applications for Harvest for Health Breakthrough Crop Challenge
Breakthroughs
Tools, technologies and strategies from the research we fund.
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Loyalty Shopper Card Intervention Creates Behavior Change
Breakthrough for Individually-targeted incentives, diet quality and health outcomes among adults
Developing an Extensive Database of US Groundwater Wells
Breakthrough for Achieving Sustainable Groundwater Management Through Innovative Governance & Optimal Agricultural Water Use Under Conflicting Objectives
Building Collaborations for Technology-Driven Solutions in Agriculture
Breakthrough for Open Technology Ecosystem for Agricultural Management (OpenTEAM)
Building Food System Interventions to Support Urban & Rural Communities
Breakthrough for Integrating Community and Modeling Efforts to Evaluate Impacts and Tradeoffs of Food System Interventions
Unlocking Genetic Heat Tolerance in Cattle
Breakthrough for Precision Bred Adaptation of Elite Taurine Breeds of Beef & Dairy Cattle
Increased Fiber, Same Great Taste
Breakthrough for Increasing Dietary Fiber in Wheat Crop
Diagnosing Coffee Leaf Rust & Slowing Its Spread
Breakthrough for Protecting Coffee from Leaf Rust Disease
Connecting Growers & Markets
Breakthrough for FFAR Grant Develops Tools to Predict Consumer Demand, Reduce Food Waste
Accelerating Crop Development with Improved Haploid Fertility
Breakthrough for Accelerated Development of Crops of the Future
Documenting Adaptive Multi-Paddock Grazing’s Benefits
Breakthrough for Quantifying the Advantages of Multi-Paddock (AMP) Grazing Compared to Conventional Continuous Grazing in the U.S. Southeast & Northern Great Plains
RIPE Researchers Prove Bioengineering Better Photosynthesis Increases Yields in Food Crops for the First Time
Breakthrough for Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) Reinvestment
Launch of Eco-Harvest, a program rewarding producers for regenerative agriculture practices
Breakthrough for Ecosystem Services Market Consortium
Radiography could transform poultry breeding
Breakthrough for FFAR Awards $1.4 Million to Purdue University, University of California, Davis and University of Edinburgh Researchers to Improve Health and Productivity of Egg-Laying Hens
Research Pinpoints Why Dairy Cows Produce Less Milk in Warm Weather and Develops Nutrition-Based Solution
Breakthrough for FFAR Grant Helps Heat-Stressed Dairy Cows Weather Increasing Temperatures
The Irrigation Innovation Consortium & Parallel 41 Network: Building a path to data-driven management
Groundwater Fluctuations Impact Grain Yields
Breakthrough for FFAR Awards $2.4 Million to Eight Early-Career Research Faculty Members for Innovative Research Projects
Getting to the Root of the Problem: Fastidious Pathogens
Breakthrough for A Novel Bioassay for Culturing and Characterizing Fastidious Phytopathogens
Report on Interventions to Reduce Consumer Food Waste
Breakthrough for Understanding & Reducing Consumer Food Waste
Feed Additives Stop Viral Disease Spread, Researchers Find
Breakthrough for FFAR-Funded Research Finds Feed Additives Stop the Spread of Viral Diseases
Initial Successes in Ending Surgical Castration of Swine
Breakthrough for FFAR Awards $500,000 Grant to Improve Swine Health and Well-Being