Carbon Sink Demonstration Farm

In July 2017, temperatures reached 122 degrees at Pauma Tribal Farms. Crops withered, trees burned, and animals were lost. With the threat of rising temperatures and increased incidents of flood and drought due to climate change, the warning was clear: start building resilience now, or give up on a livelihood derived from agriculture. Together, Solidarity Farm and Pauma Tribal Farms assessed our options. Pauma was ready to embark on a new olive orchard and vineyard planting, and Solidarity Farm was eager to expand our diversified specialty crop operations. We sought input from technical advisors, discussed opportunities to integrate traditional ecological knowledge, researched the most applicable practices for building healthy soil, and applied for funding to help offset costs and buffer our learning curve. In 2018, we formalized our plan as the “Carbon Sink Demonstration Farm” and began implementing a suite of “carbon farming” practices, including:

• a reduction or elimination of tillage on at least 80% of farmed land;

• the transition 70% of production to perennial crops;

• planting of cover crops in orchards and vineyards to reduce soil temperatures, improve cation exchange and decrease the application of water;

• encircling the farm with hedgerows and windbreaks to improve pollinator habitat,

• increasing the availability of traditional food, fiber and medicine, and reducing wind erosion/evaporation; and

• the addition of compost and mulch to fruit and vegetable crops, with the goal of increasing soil organic matter.

These goals were mapped onto a site plan and complimented by a public education and engagement strategy. This report specifically documents our progress towards building healthier soils and begins to define appropriate indicators for our region. In the coming year, our findings will be vetted by our peers on the San Diego Food System Alliance’s “Carbon Farming Task Force.” We are hopeful that our undertakings will help build the case for inclusion of carbon farming as mitigation in our local Climate Action Plan as well as encourage neighboring farmers to join us in growing a more resilient local food system.

Solidarity Farm is a cooperative family farm privileged to steward land owned by the Pauma Band of Luiseno Indians.  We grow a diversity of seasonal fruits and vegetables on 10 acres and strive to integrate regenerative methods that sequester carbon and build healthy soil.  We believe beautiful, nutritious food should be accessible to all people and seek to distribute our produce in ways that build a more equitable and just food system.

Here at Solidarity Farm, we're striving to create a stronger, healthier, more food-secure future. We practice "ethical farming" which means we work hard each day to balance the needs of humans, animals, plants and nature in a way that honors each part of this interconnected system. We never use nasty chemicals, not even "certified organic" ones, and we invest in building soil as our primary sustainability strategy. We are focused on making great food affordable and accessible so that no one is excluded from nourishing themselves and their families.  

Ellee Igoe is a co-owner and food systems advocate leading the Carbon Farming Task force at the San Diego Food Systems Alliance.  She is a mother to three free-spirited children ages 9, 6 and 3. The farm—located about fifty miles from San Diego—brings regeneratively grown fruits and vegetables at farmer’s markets and through a CSA program, offers classes to youth, and anchors the Foodshed Small Farm Resource Hub (a farmer-owned regenerative ag equipment co-op). Through all of these efforts, Solidarity Farm is helping local farmers sequester carbon and build resilience on their farms through regenerative agriculture.

The team at Solidarity Farm is using an array of carbon farming practices, including cover cropping, bio-char, compost, mulch, windbreaks and hedgerows, perennial crop transition while avoiding any chemical inputs. Solidarity Farm is collaborating with the Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians to test out strategies and better understand how to advance carbon sequestration methods through a Carbon Sink Demonstration Project. The project is working to test strategies and demonstrate how carbon sink farming practices can support climate resilience. For this project, one of the goals was to increase soil organic matter from 1% to 4%, specifically using compost application, cover cropping, no-till, hedgerow installation, and transition from row crops to trees. Throughout the project, the team has gathered data to monitor soil organic matter levels and soil moisture, in addition to an economic analysis that indicates net economic benefits by using these practices.