Carbon180 Releases Federal Policy Roadmap to Scale Agricultural Carbon Removal

Climate NGO Carbon180 has released a new federal policy roadmap outlining concrete steps the U.S. government can take to expand carbon dioxide removal (CDR) on the nation's agricultural lands. Published in October 2026 and titled "Restoring Carbon for Healthy Agricultural Lands," the document presents legislative and regulatory recommendations across five policy domains, placing producers at the center of the country's CDR strategy.

The roadmap builds on Carbon180's Living Ground vision paper, released in September 2026, which drew on nearly two years of engagement with more than 200 land stewards, scientists, and technical service providers across every major U.S. agricultural region. Together, the two publications make the case that conservation agriculture practices, already well-established, can be scaled more aggressively with the right federal support, delivering benefits for soil health, farm income, and rural resilience at the same time.

>> In Other News: SWITCH Maritime Receives Design Basis Agreement From US Coast Guard For 150-Passenger Hydrogen Fuel Cell-Electric Ferry

Five Areas of Federal Action

The roadmap organizes its recommendations around five enabling conditions: infrastructure and market access, land access and tenure, technical assistance and local capacity building, incentives and risk management, and monitoring, research, and development. Carbon180 frames these as interconnected priorities that must advance together to unlock meaningful CDR gains from working lands.

The potential is substantial. U.S. croplands and grasslands already remove between 20 and 50 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent per year. The roadmap projects that moderate adoption of conservation practices across 175 million acres could add an additional 106 million metric tons annually over the next two to three decades. More aggressive adoption across 336 million acres could push that figure to 204 million metric tons, well above the U.S. interim target of removing 30 million metric tons of CO2 per year by 2030.

Priority Policy Recommendations

Federal Procurement as a Market Signal

One of the roadmap's headline proposals asks the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to pilot a Conservation Pilot Procurement Program that would direct 5 to 10 percent of its roughly $5 billion in annual food purchases toward products grown using carbon-storing practices. The goal is to use the federal government's purchasing power to create reliable market demand for regenerative farm outputs and send a clear signal to producers weighing the transition.

Nationwide Soil Health Testing

The document calls for a nationwide free soil health testing initiative that would give every farmer and rancher access to a standardized annual assessment tracking soil organic carbon over time. It would be administered through a consortium of land-grant universities and coordinated with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which lost more than 25 percent of its staff in 2025 amid sweeping federal budget cuts, with the steepest losses concentrated in soil conservation positions.

Longer Contracts and Persistence Payments

Soil organic carbon typically takes five or more years to improve meaningfully after a practice change. The roadmap recommends extending federal conservation program contracts to reflect those timelines. It also proposes one-time "persistence payments" for producers who maintain practices for at least three years beyond their contract end date, locking in ecological benefits that require sustained, long-term management to accrue.

Supporting the Next Generation of Producers

With 40 percent of U.S. farmland expected to change hands over the next 15 years, and 59 percent of young farmers citing land costs as their top barrier to entry, the roadmap proposes a sustainable land steward development program. Aspiring producers would be matched with mentor farmers experienced in regenerative practices, earning a living wage during the program and gaining preferential access to federal loan programs upon completion.

Research and Soil Carbon Measurement

On the science side, Carbon180 advocates for passage of the Advancing Research on Agricultural Soil Health Act (ARASHA), which would establish a standardized soil carbon measurement methodology and a national soil inventory and analysis network. The roadmap also backs the Biochar Research Network Act and recommends a feasibility study for a national enhanced rock weathering (ERW) demonstration hub.

As the roadmap's conclusion states, "status quo policy is no longer acceptable." The full document, authored by Gloria Dabek, Beverly Paul, and Daphne Yin, is available on Carbon180's website.

About Carbon180

Carbon180 is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit dedicated to reversing two centuries of carbon emissions through science-based, equitable federal policy. Founded in 2015, the organization works across multiple CDR pathways, including soil and forest carbon, direct air capture, and enhanced rock weathering. Carbon180 publishes research, tracks federal funding and legislation, and engages directly with policymakers, scientists, and land stewards to bring carbon removal solutions to gigaton scale.

Source: Carbon180 Agriculture Policy Roadmap: Restoring Carbon for Healthy Agricultural Lands, October 2026