press release: SOIL4CLIMATE TO DEMONSTRATE RANCHERS AS CLIMATE HEROES, PRESENT DEFICIENCIES IN “GRAZED AND CONFUSED” AT UK’S GROUNDSWELL REGENERATIVE AG CONFERENCE

“Key to grassland health is the proper role of ruminants, like cows, which when grazed in regenerative ways, can be an important solution to the world’s climate and hunger emergencies,” said Seth Itzkan, co-director of Soil4Climate. “That, combined with regenerative cropping techniques, permits farmers and ranchers to feed the world while becoming heroes of the climate.” 

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Photo Left: Seth Itzkan presenting with talking stick and necklace of the Maasai

Photo Right: Seth Itzkan with holistically managed cows in Zimbabwe. ​

Press Release: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT: jenniferawitherspoon@gmail.com; WhatsApp: +13866243044

SOIL4CLIMATE TO DEMONSTRATE RANCHERS AS CLIMATE HEROES, PRESENT DEFICIENCIES IN “GRAZED AND CONFUSED” AT UK’S GROUNDSWELL REGENERATIVE AG CONFERENCE
Talk Title: Keepers of the Thermostat: How Farmers & Ranchers Can Be Climate Heroes

THETFORD, Vt. (June 20, 2022) – On June 23rd, 2022, from 9 am – 10 am BST, Soil4Climate’s co-founder and co-director, Seth Itzkan, will address an audience of farmers, ranchers, policymakers, and others interested in the environment and regenerative agriculture at Groundswell, the Regenerative Agriculture Show and Conference, at Lannock Manor Farm in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. 

“Grasslands have acted as a thermostat of the climate over tens of millions of years,” said University of Oregon Department of Earth Science Professor Emeritus, Dr. Gregory Retallack, whose work Itzkan draws on. “Grasslands co-evolved with grazing animals so that grazing and climate regulation are uniquely tied together.”

“Key to grassland health is the proper role of ruminants, like cows, which when grazed in regenerative ways, can be an important solution to the world’s climate and hunger emergencies,” said Seth Itzkan, co-director of Soil4Climate. “That, combined with regenerative cropping techniques, permits farmers and ranchers to feed the world while becoming heroes of the climate.” 

With this perspective, Itzkan will present the science of carbon drawdown in soils via regenerative grazing and highlight projects demonstrating it. Examples include: Brown’s Ranch in North Dakota, White Oak Pastures in Georgia, and Soil4Climate’s work with the Maasai Center for Regenerative Pastoralism in Kenya.

Additionally, Itzkan, who is twice cited in the 2017 anti-animal agriculture report, Grazed and Confused, will discuss the deficiencies of that work. In it, the solution of holistic planned grazing and carbon drawdown via grazing was dismissed, in part, explains Itzkan, “because the full body of research on the matter was not adequately covered.”

The work of Mr. Itzkan, which was ill-received by Grazed and Confused, was a 2014 white paper titled Upside (Drawdown) the Potential of Restorative Grazing to Mitigate Global Warming by Increasing Carbon Capture on Grasslands. In it, Mr. Itzkan estimated that soil carbon accrual rates with regenerative grazing could be as high as 2.4 metric tons per hectare per year (with a carbon dioxide equivalency of 8.6 tons). This drawdown rate has subsequently been exceeded in peer-reviewed studies, affirming his conjecture and refuting Grazed and Confused. 

“Studies that already available at the publication of Grazed and Confused—and more recent since—clearly show the elevated carbon drawdown potential of regenerative grazing,” said Itzkan.

As an indication, recent peer-reviewed papers on regenerative grazing are reporting drawdown rates of 2.1 to 3.5 metric tons of carbon per hectare per year, which equates to between 7.7 and 13.8 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

​“That’s knowledge every agricultural minister should have,” states Itzkan. “It’s exciting to see the research now focusing on grazing that’s regenerative; that gives us hope,” said Seth Itzkan. “We need all climate solutions on deck,” he said. “Regenerative grazing and cropping are probably our principal tools for building soil carbon. Holistic policy formation can help make them national priorities,” Itzkan concluded. 

Mr. Itzkan will be available for comment regarding the content of his session. To schedule an interview with Mr. Itzkan, please contact Jenniferawitherspoon@gmail.com; WhatsApp: +13866243044

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Soil4Climate is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization that advocates for soil restoration as a climate solution. We promote regenerative land management practices to capture atmospheric carbon and encourage collaboration with the larger body of climate activism. Uniting “drawdown” strategies with emissions reduction, divestment from fossil fuels, a price on carbon, and climate justice advocacy, together create a powerful alliance. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.