Low-carbon agriculture: two farms under the spotlight

More and more farms, both in France and elsewhere, are embarking on strategies to decarbonise their operations as part of a long-term trend that has become central to farming over recent years. Axereal is committed to playing a full role in this movement, by actively supporting farmers as they adapt their practices and shift towards low-carbon agriculture.

At the heart of this trend is the need to “transition towards an agriculture that is more respectful of the environment,” says Pierre Toussaint, the cooperative’s Director of Agronomy, Transitions and Innovation. Because of climate change, the path to decarbonisation is a major lever for maintaining yields on farms. “Recent observations show a reduction in soil quality, and these new approaches also offers solutions to this issue,” he continues. Plus of course, soil condition has a direct impact on plant health and therefore on the long-term future of farms.”

Additionally, the low-carbon agriculture championed by Axereal is a lever for both responding to regulatory requirements and staying one step ahead of them, in particular as regards authorised active substances. Last but not least, it is a way for farmers to align with the expectations of society, as voiced by downstream customers (processors, end customers, etc.). These translate into a growing interest in agricultural production with a lower environmental impact (e.g. reduced greenhouse gas emissions).

Low-carbon approaches that work on the ground

What solutions exist to address all these challenges? To support the development of low-carbon agriculture, Axereal Group has been investigating the most efficient strategies to reduce the environmental impact of farms without adversely affecting yields for several years now. A major focus of this work has been the development of the CultivUp Régénératif programme. It encompasses a set of regenerative agriculture practices through which farmers can embark on a farm-wide transition which dovetails perfectly with market demand. Farmers also carry out a simplified carbon audit when they join the initiative.

Today, CultivUp Régénératif has 1,300 members. “More than 500 of them have even been motivated to join carbon programmes,” says David Gonin, a farmer and vice-chairman of Axereal. “These run over the long term (5 years minimum), and involve an annual audit. As part of the initiative, the farmers receive support to reduce their emissions and improve carbon sequestration.”

Axereal has ensured that its approach to encouraging low-carbon agriculture is focused on the reality on the ground: farms’ specific situations are taken into account in the support offered. “Not all decarbonisation strategies are a good fit for all farms,” says Toussaint. “We leave the farmers some leeway. For example, if they’re already working ten crops, we’re not going to suggest they extend their rotations.”

This practical approach is also used internationally where, just like in France, there is interest in decarbonisation strategies. Farming conditions and production methods are just two of the factors that have an influence. “You might have two crops to harvest each year in South America but only one crop in France,” Toussaint continues. “The weather conditions are different too. For example, in North America, there’s much more frost, and that destroys weeds.” All these parameters have to be taken into account to adapt the transition to low-carbon agriculture for each local market.

Two farms under the spotlight

In practice, how are low-carbon strategies put in place on a farm? What impact are they having, on the farm’s finances, on the environment, etc.?  We took a closer look at two farms that have begun their transition: one in France, with Axereal, and the other in Argentina, with Axereal subsidiary Boortmalt.

• Jeoffrey Vincent (France): “There is support for low-carbon agriculture that makes it financially worthwhile”

The farm: Jeoffrey Vincent is a farmer based at Saint-Bris-le-Vineux, in France’s Yonne department. On his 280-hectare farm, he grows rapeseed, wheat and barley on shallow clay-limestone soil.

Motivation and goals: By embarking on a low-carbon agriculture strategy and moving to direct drilling, Vincent sought to reduce tractor time and cut the associated direct and indirect costs. He mentions another source of motivation too: “Low-carbon agriculture is financially worthwhile.”

Support from the cooperative: “Axereal has formed discussion groups focusing on conservation agriculture and the different low-carbon practices,” Vincent explains. “We really need these opportunities to share experiences, in particular in terms of techniques and agronomy, in order to progress.” Axereal also provides financial support: “Channel premiums have been put in place to recognise low-carbon practices,” he continues.

Practices and techniques: To make the transition to low-carbon farming, Vincent focused on two major changes. Firstly, he decided to move to direct drilling on a portion of his fields. He admits that he’s “learning on the job – naturally there’s some trial and error the first few times, in particular as regards setting the seeder correctly to get the right depth,” he explains. The second change was to introduce cover crops into his rotations.

Results and benefits: Given that Vincent only began changing his way of working in summer 2024, it’s too soon for him to start assessing the results. He did however run some direct drilling tests during the previous season and was satisfied with the outcome.  “Yields on the areas that were direct drilled were in line with those seen across the farm,” he says. In parallel, he hopes to limit equipment wear and tear and cut fuel costs by reducing tractor usage. He will also save time, which he can use “to carry out other work, take part in training or simply finish earlier in the evening,” he explains. Cover crops will boost soil quality. “These plants have various advantages: they break up the soil, they capture nitrogen, and they also fight weeds, if they’re put in quickly,” he continues.

Lastly, low-carbon practices have had an additional financial impact by qualifying the farm for a channel premium offered by Axereal, and a carbon performance premium (for lower emissions and increased sequestration) set up by Soil Capital. Vincent will carry out a financial analysis to evaluate the overall gain, taking into account the additional expenses, for example for the cover crops.

Expectations and outlook: Vincent is conscious that a transition to low-carbon agriculture is a long-term project. “It’s going to take several years, and it’s important to remain agile to adapt to any changes, and to take into account the specific conditions on my farm.” There’s an important rule to keep in mind: “Some practices don’t turn out to suit certain farms. That’s why it’s important to make changes on a case-by-case basis, building on detailed knowledge of the situation on the ground.”

• Marcos Giudici (Argentina): “We’ve cut the carbon footprint of our barley without reducing yields”

The farm: The farm, which covers around 25,000 hectares of land, is located in the north-central region of the Humid Pampas in Argentina. “We grow barley, rapeseed, camelina, popcorn and soy,” says Marcos Giudici, head of contract crop production for Areco Semillas SA (ASSA). Malting barley delivered to Boortmalt covers 15% of the area sown to crops.

Motivation and goals: “Our crops are linked to the European market and consequently we have to adopt some of the principles of sustainable agriculture,” says Giudici. As a result, low-carbon practices have been introduced in the production area (such as crop rotations and the addition of service/cover crops) to study their impact, in particular in terms of the annual profitability of crops.

Support from the cooperative: “In 2024, we joined the ‘low-carbon barley’ programme that Boortmalt was offering with Yara,” he explains. Work was carried out to put it in place for specific production batches. The Ucrop.it platform was used to measure the carbon footprint of the barley. “We received technical support from Boortmalt and commercial incentives to establish this production in the market,” Giudici continues.

Practices and techniques: There were fruitful discussions between ASSA and Aapresid, the Argentinian no-till farmers association. “They gave us the opportunity to learn about regenerative agriculture practices – minimising soil disturbance, growing cover crops and using inputs responsibly – and we were impressed,” Giudici explains.

To reduce the farm’s carbon impact, he has also looked at the “four Rs” technique for using fertilisers sustainably (right source, right rate, right time, right place). Lastly, the recommendations of the Boortmalt-Yara programme (replacing urea-based fertilisers with low-carbon alternatives) were implemented for the barley crops. This involved a logistical challenge: “We had to create an additional supply and sales channel to be able to use this kind of low-carbon fertiliser.”

Results and benefits: The results of the first phase have been positive: “We’ve seen equivalent results in terms of yields and profitability, but with a significant reduction in the carbon footprint of the barley,” says Giudici. He’s confident about the future: “Over the next few years, with a larger-scale programme, I’m expecting to see higher yields and for the improvement in our carbon footprint to be confirmed.”

Consequently, he recommends the transition to other farmers: “Although in Argentina there are not currently any premiums for putting these practices in place – as regards barley and other winter cereal crops at least – by adopting them we make efficient use of inputs and help to protect the environment and the communities around the area we farm.”

Expectations and outlook: Although he is satisfied with the changes made, Giudici would like to see the value generated by low-carbon agriculture distributed fairly: “It’s the industry that’s benefitting, and I hope we’ll see the value shared with the first link in the chain: the farmer,” he concludes.