Harold Grall, United States
Something went wrong. Please try again later...
Nominated by Russell French, Pioneer
“Agriculture is one of the largest producers of carbon credits, and I think we will play a large role in that. Populations are going to continue to grow…demand for food is just going to continue to grow, and the dependence on farming and good farming practices and all the technology that goes into it will be so important.”
Climate Positive Practices
Harold Grall is a farmer in Dumas, Texas managing irrigated and dryland acres producing corn, grain sorghum and wheat with very limited tillage to preserve residue along with water conservation measures to protect the Ogallala Aquifer. Learning from past mistakes made during the Dust Bowl era, Harold is focused on the Ogallala as a finite water resource, making the goals of balancing sustainability and profitability very challenging. He applies very limited tillage and maintains as much crop residue as possible to reduce wind erosion, keeping soil surface shaded and cooler, with less evaporation. The Increased water holding capacity of his soil allows him to fully store water from big rainfall events and winter snows.
Since Harold implemented his climate positive practices, the irrigation capacity from the Ogallala has dropped off as much as 50%. Fortunately, his needs for irrigation water has reduced by 20 to 25 percent per year. Yields have increased on average by 20 percent, trips across the fields have reduced from eight to two per year, using 50 percent less fuel while farming 40 percent more acres.