[Reporter] This land has been farmed by the Israel family for five generations.
Here, the fight against climate change begins
with what's under the ground.
And these guys are all part of the plan.
[Brett] It's funny you wouldn't think that the pigs would be combating it
but look at it, you see the manure on the floor
and that's going to be collected and reapplied
to the fields as a natural fertilizer source.
[Reporter] Five years ago Brett Israel joined the family business
with his father Jamie and grandfather Carl.
They switched over to organic
which means they don't use any chemicals
to grow feed for their livestock.
But Brett had another pressing concern.
Farmers are on the front lines of climate change
we see it every day
you know we often joke and talk on the farm
that we're dependent on mother nature
whether she be motherly or not so motherly.
There we go right there, yeah.
[Reporter] So, the family also embraced a growing trend called regenerative agriculture.
We farm it and we still say wow.
Yeah, that's pretty good.
[Reporter] It's essentially a set of farming practices that help rebuild the soil.
It's got a good smell.
Oh, yeah.
Look at the little guy.
[Reporter] Brett says earthworms and long root systems mean healthy soil.
[Brett] This is the nitrogen fertilizer right here all those nodules.
[Reporter] They planted Alfalfa oats and winter wheat
instead of leaving this land bare over the winter.
It’s a practice known as cover cropping.
It helps the soil absorb carbon
and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
This cover crop might be not feeding my physical livestock
or feeding people
it's feeding the biology below our ground right now.
[Reporter] For decades farmers have been evolving the ways they care for the soil
many have all but stopped tilling the land
especially on the prairies
offsetting some of their agricultural emissions.
But, experts say more is needed in the fight against climate change.
So, we're just going to go up and check the system here.
[Reporter] At the University of Guelph, agro-meteorologist Claudia Wagner-Riddle
has started to study how much carbon regenerative practices
could actually store in the soil.
It's taking its carbon out of the atmosphere
keeping it in compounds that are not easily accessible
to be returned to the atmosphere again.
That's the magic of the soil carbon sequestration.
So, if we look at this field we could say this is a wasted opportunity
because we could be growing crops at this time.
[Reporter] She's comparing data from this conventional field
to data from a cover crop.
This field is a potential loss of carbon.
It's not helping offset climate change
to the same extent that this field
that has growing crops would be able to.
[Reporter] Still, it can take years to see benefits from regenerative practices
and only if farmers commit long term.
To make a difference, this has to be implemented large scale across the country basically.
[Reporter] While the science is still evolving and it's not mainstream
There's about 250 ewes here.
[Reporter] Seventy-year-old Blain Hjertaas
has been pitching the philosophy for decades.
I've been doing this 20 years now
to kind of step out and do something different gives a lot of people a bit of fear.
[Reporter] In southeastern Saskatchewan Hjertaas frequently rotates livestock
to graze in small pastures for short periods of time.
He says it prevents soil erosion and encourages regrowth.
If we want to take carbon from up here and put it down
we need to keep leaves green as long as possible.
[Reporter] Hjertaas says adopting these new practices
can take extra work, money and education
but that it's worth it.
He says his land absorbs more carbon than his neighbours
and that soil testing proves it.
On this farm, we are sequestering enough carbon
to more than offset 400 Canadians' footprint.
[Reporter] How confident or exact are you in the measurement system?
Well, that's the great scientific debate.
[Reporter] So now, Hjertaas is helping with a pilot project
funded by the American food company General Mills.
Hjertaas works with local farmers like Gary Richards
who's been improving his farm's ecosystem for years.
[Man] Good job.
[Reporter] General Mills is testing his soil
and counting birds and insects on his land.
The company is looking for ways to reduce its carbon footprint.
They're investing a lot of money on this farm
and the other farms to collect data and to quantify this.
So, we'll put something else under there to stay green.
[Reporter] The push to quantify his impact on greenhouse gas emissions
now a marketing campaign too.
If we were carbon-negative then the oats that we grow here
could be marketed as carbon-negative.
So, there's the chemical, the physical, and the biological aspects of the soil.
[Reporter] Once the results are in
he hopes to also sell carbon offset credits
and believes other farmers will buy into regenerative agriculture
if it makes good business sense.
Incentivize good management practices
to build soil, to build ecosystems to sequester more carbon
farmers will do it.
You know, if they're going to get paid to do it.
[Reporter] While regenerative agriculture still has much to prove
Brett Israel is resolute.
You can have a global problem
and make practical solutions right here on the family farm.
[Reporter] He believes that improving his soil to fight climate change
is his way of making sure this farm will stay in the family
for generations to come.
Bonnie Allen, CBC News, Regina.