Proposed Objectives of the Project:
The objective of this study (Devin Serfas’ dissertation project) is to exploit a unique panel dataset from Saskatchewan (1) to model and measure the implications of alternative cropping choices—including tillage systems, crop rotations, and fallow—for quantities of atmospheric CO2 sequestered as soil organic carbon (SOC), (2) to measure the benefits and costs to farmers from adopting cropping choices that increase SOC over time, and (3) to explore potential policies for encouraging farmers to adopt cropping choices that sequester atmospheric CO2.

Summary of Research to Date:
The project has gone largely according to plan. Devin has completed good drafts of the first two chapters of his dissertation, corresponding to the first two objectives enumerated above, and has made a beginning on the third. The plan is to complete the first two chapters in the current quarter (Spring 2023), to make substantive progress on the third chapter over the Summer while in residence at the University of Saskatchewan, and to wrap up the dissertation during the Fall quarter, 2023. The Giannini Foundation mini-grant was used to leverage funding support from the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission which will continue to support Devin through the Summer and Fall of 2023.