Carbon Positive project harvests corn

We recently harvested our first trial crop, about 16 metric tonnes of sweetcorn, grown at the ‘MicroFarm’ of our project partner, LandWISE.

Added 12 months ago

The Trust’s Carbon Positive project is a ground breaking study testing whether soil carbon can be regenerated – and to what extent – in soils used for intensive field cropping.

We recently harvested our first trial crop, about 16 metric tonnes of sweetcorn, grown at the ‘MicroFarm’ of our project partner, LandWISE. Fortunately the cyclone did not disrupt production.

The sweetcorn was grown across 12 plots allowing ongoing comparison of outcomes using conventional, regenerative and hybrid cultivation practices.

The project will examine soil carbon stocks, soil carbon cycling, soil health, crop yield, and farm economics, giving rigorous scientific assessments of environmental, productivity and profitability outcomes.

The project commercial partners include Heinz Wattie’s, McCain Foods, BASF, and Hill Laboratories, as well as major funder MPI and science partners Plant & Food Research, Manaaki Whenua (Landcare Research), Massey University, AgResearch, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.

Dan Bloomer manages the project for LandWISE.

Dan Bloomer, LandWISE

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Phyllis Tichinin - Apr 30, 2023, 12:23 PM

Congratulations to Landwise and HBFFT for your success in getting this important research project 'off the ground'. Your consistency and diligence in the face of funding delays has been impressive. Looking forward to interim results.

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