Research & Methodologies

The following list of conservation practices are proposed to be compensated because they deliver significant public benefits when accounting for the combined climate, soil health, water quality, water conservation and additional environmental benefits. 

Agricultural associations and other stakeholders are invited to engage RIPE to help identify additional conservation practices. RIPE also supports inclusion of state-level conservation practices that are equivalent to the following and may be more appropriately tailored to the state context.

Bar chart titled 'RIPE Practices Deliver Robust Environmental Benefits in Addition to Carbon Value' showing payment amounts in dollars per acre or animal unit for various stewardship practices. Practices include Reduced Tillage, Cover Crop, No Tillage, Dry Seeding Rice, Conventional Crop Rotation, Prescribed Grazing, Forage and Biomass, Feed Mgmt, Phosphate and ED Mgmt, Silvopasture, Phosphate and Disease Mgmt, Nutrient Mgmt, Lagoon Covers. The highest payment is for Lagoon Covers at $1,028, with water quality, biodiversity, and human health/air quality also contributing.
A presentation slide with the logo of R.I.P.E. (Rural Investment to Protect Our Environment), the title 'Quantifying Total Public Benefits from Climate-Smart Practices,' and a bar chart showing various data points related to climate-smart agricultural practices on a background of green crops and dry soil.

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Cropland Practices:

  • Cover crops (340)

  • Residue management, no-till (329)

  • Residue management, reduced-till (345)

  • Nutrient management (590)

    • Incorporation and injection

    • Precision agriculture

  • Conservation crop rotations (328)

  • Filter strips (393)

  • Riparian herbaceous cover (390)

  • Riparian forest buffer (391)

  • Maintain grass cover on expiring CRP contracts and historic native grasslands

  • Windbreak/Shelterbelt establishment and renovation (380)

  • Perennial biofuels and feedstock pasture and hay planting (512)

  • Silvopasture (381)

Rice Practices:  

  • Residue management, no-till (329)

  • Residue management, reduced-till (345)

  • Irrigation water management (449)

    • Alternate wetting and drying for water conservation in rice (449)

    • Dry seeding for rice in California and regions south of I-10

    • Dry seeding with post-harvest flooding for rice

  • Wetland wildlife habitat management (644)

  • Early drainage with post-harvest flooding for rice  (449)

Forestry Practices:

  • Riparian forest buffer (391)

  • Forest stand improvement (666)

  • Silvopasture (381)

  • Maintain forest on expiring CRP contracts

  • Tree/shrub establishment

Livestock Practices:  

  • Comprehensive nutrient management plan and implementation (102)

  • Prescribed grazing (528)

  • Feed management (592)

  • Roofs and covers (367)

  • Nutrient management (590)

  • Forage and biomass planting pasture and hay planting (512)

  • Silvopasture (381)

Read more about RIPE’s Approach