Can Soil Really Store Carbon? (Yes—Here’s How)

At Maple Wind Farm, we believe the way we raise our animals—and care for our land—should do more than just produce delicious food. It should leave the soil better than we found it. That’s why we practice regenerative agriculture, a holistic approach that builds soil health, increases biodiversity, and creates real climate benefits—right here in Vermont.

Let’s talk about what that means in real numbers.

Carbon Storage: Turning Pasture into a Climate Ally

When animals graze on well-managed pasture, they stimulate plant growth and help cycle nutrients back into the soil. The plants, in turn, pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis and store it underground in their roots and surrounding soil. This is how grasslands become one of the most powerful tools we have for carbon sequestration.

According to Project Drawdown, managed grazing can sequester around 1.7 tons of CO₂ per acre per year.
With over 200 acres of pasture at Maple Wind Farm under regenerative management, that means we could be drawing down as much as 340 tons of CO₂ annually—the equivalent of taking over 70 cars off the road each year.

And unlike trees, which can burn or be cut down, soil carbon is stable and long-lasting—especially when protected by a healthy root system and living plant cover year-round.

Water-Holding Power: A Defense Against Flooding

Healthy soil doesn’t just store carbon. It also holds water like a sponge. That matters more than ever in Vermont, where heavier rains and more extreme weather events are becoming the new normal.

Here’s what we’ve seen:

One percent of organic matter in soil can hold up to 20,000 gallons of water per acre.
Through rotational grazing, compost application, and cover cropping, we’ve been steadily increasing organic matter in our fields—by 0.25–0.5% per year.
That’s an added 5,000–10,000 gallons of water-holding capacity per acre, every year.

This matters in a big way. When healthy soil absorbs and retains water, it reduces runoff, prevents erosion, and slows the flow of water across the land. That helps reduce the severity of floods, recharges local aquifers, and makes our farm—and our state—more resilient in the face of climate change.

A Local Solution to a Global Problem

At Maple Wind Farm, we don’t just farm for today. We farm for the long term health of our land, our community, and the planet. By working with nature—not against it—we’re proving that farms can be part of the climate solution.

Healthy soil means: