Centre for High Carbon Capture Cropping (CH Cx3)

This project will establish a?**Centre for High Carbon Capture Cropping**?(**CH Cx3**). The diverse team will work together on a selected set of four crop groups (already known to be associated with high carbon-capture potential). The team will ensure Project outcomes and outputs will be made available to farmers and government via a central knowledge hub dealing with dissemination and outreach. CHCx3 will evaluate and develop the potential for increased carbon (C) capture within UK agriculture by improving these crops' ability to capture and store Carbon-dioxide.

In addition to capturing atmospheric Carbon-dioxide from the air and storing it in the soil, we will consider how the crops themselves can be used in production of: new products made from those crops. These include substitutes bricks/breeze blocks, fabrics and chip-board. Energy-crops substitute for gas/oil. In short, replacing non-renewable, carbon-intensive production materials where possible.

Diversifying crop species (e.g., hemp and flax in sustainable building materials) and crops to feed livestock production systems (e.g., diverse grass and flower mixtures) has the potential to increase farm resilience, reduce crop inputs and help improve the environment.

Addressing climate change goals requires that farmers and industry using and selling crop products (known as value-chains) have confidence in economically viable crop production. strengthening and piloting components of value-chains is a major component of the project. We will help farmers to deliver government incentive schemes, such as the 'Environmental Land Management' scheme (ELM) which, through payments, enables farmers to hit targets for broader public good.?

CHCx3 brings together businesses, growers, industry-experts and other stakeholders; evaluates economic returns and validates anticipated climate-change mitigation and emissions reductions on-farm and through product-use by discussion, rigorous testing and life cycle analysis. Farmers and other stakeholders will be able to access data from the project through two user friendly Webpage-based 'Apps', one of which is already being developed in a recently funded sister project.

Networking, knowledge exchange grower/user interaction and engagement with policy-makers are at the heart of the?**CHCx3** hub; continued activity and growth is guaranteed through App development and recruitment of farmers; assisted by national membership groups such as the National Farmers Union, FarmED, NIAB and the British, Northern-Irish and Scottish Hemp Associations. Breeding work will continue too following completion

The main 'Green House Gas (GHG) emission considered is carbon-dioxide, but a second key GHG will be reduced through reduced use of nitrogen-based fertilisers; namely nitrous-oxide emissions; this will also be quantified.