Bayer, along with Bushel and Amazon Web Services, has unveiled an industry-first digital carbon footprint measurement solution for agriculture.
Sachi Desai, senior director of digital partnerships for Bayer?s Climate Corporation, says Project Carbonview is a first-of-its-kind technology solution that will help farmers in the United States drive more sustainable supply chains and mitigate the impact agriculture has on the environment by aggregating the carbon footprint of end products.
?Project Carbonview is our effort to integrate the farmer into the more broad grain value chain, specifically in this case ethanol,? said Desai. ?Integrating the information and data with grower consent from the farmgate into that entire value chain to essentially measure the total carbon emitted during the production of ethanol.?
Desai says Project Carbonview is the latest example of Bayer?s unique focus on connecting the farmer more deeply into the value chain to better capture their carbon contribution and drive the entire value chain to net-zero carbon emissions. Through this solution, farmers are empowered to connect to more sustainable supply chains that benefit their farming operations while minimizing carbon emissions.
?This is all done by grower consent and grower choice,? said Desai. ?The grower has to consent to share the data to make this happen, but they are not going to be required or forced into it. It?s their choice to share the data and participate. We hold in the upmost regard to make sure that data stays secure, and the grower maintains control over that data wherever they want it to go.?
Beginning as a pilot program, Project Carbonview is focused on creating awareness and acceptance for low-carbon fuel markets. Desai says eligible farmers who enroll in the pilot will receive compensation for participation.
?We want to give growers options with what they do with their grain,? said Desai. ?What we?re really working on here with this project is getting a pathway approved where the grower is directly engaged with the creation and the value generation of the premium when you are selling low-carbon fuel.?
For farmers who opt into the program, Project Carbonview streamlines on-farm data collection with Bayer’s Climate FieldView? application and connects it with delivery and transportation data captured from the 54,000 U.S. active users of Bushel’s platform. Through the Climate FieldView? platform, farmers continue to own their data and choose who to share their data with.
The team behind Project Carbonview is piloting the solution with U.S. corn producers during the 2022 season and plans to expand the program in the future to other global regions and other feed grains, food grains and oilseeds such as soybeans.
