The CROP Project is a collaborative effort between Parkland Agri-Services Corp. and EPCOR to create permanent, real, measurable and verifiable greenhouse gas offsets from changes in tillage practices on a year-by-year basis. Individually, farms can only create small reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, which is why the CROP Project intends to aggregate the emission reductions realized from individual farms located throughout Alberta.
The project comprises firstly CROP (Carbon Offset Reduction Projects Ltd.), a company that collects information on tillage practices from participating farms, calculates (quantifies) emission reductions, and prepares these reductions for sale; and secondly, EPCOR, which then purchases the emission reductions.
Upon joining CROP, farmers sign a Record Keeping and Verified Emission Reduction Purchase Agreement which includes a CROP Carbon Field Information Sheet. The CROP Carbon Field Information Sheet is a template used for recording field observations and measurements at the site. Information collected includes information directly relevant to GHG quantifications, as well as other farming-related information with broader applicability. Recorded information is then reviewed and the sheet signed by the representative of the Dealer or CROP and then entered into the CROP data management system.