Any farm producing and selling reduced-CI crops must calculate a farm-level CI for each crop type (field corn, soybeans, or sorghum). The farm-level crop-specific CI represents the carbon emissions resulting from production of one bushel of that crop. The farm-level crop-specific CI applies to the year in which the crop was harvested, and the total amount of a crop harvested in a given year must be included in the calculation. Once a farm-level CI is calculated for a specific crop, the total amount of that crop is assigned the farm-level crop-specific CI and may be sold as reduced-CI crop. To calculate the farm-level CI for each crop:
(a) Farm producers must calculate the CI for each field or management unit on which CSA practice(s) were implemented, in accordance with subpart F of this part, using the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Feedstock Carbon Intensity Calculator (FD-CIC). This step must be repeated for every field or management unit producing CSA crops. To calculate a field or management unit-level CI in USDA FD-CIC, farm producers must input data on:
(1) farm location (county and state);
(2) crop type produced;
(3) crop yield;
(4) field or management unit acres;
(5) use of no-till or reduced till;
(6) use of a cover crop;
(7) timing of nitrogen fertilizer application; and
(8) nitrification inhibitor usage.
(b) For any conventional crop, farm producers must input crop and yield (excluding yield of crop produced using CSA practices) into USDA FD-CIC. USDA FD-CIC will assign these crops the default national value CI.
(c) USDA FD-CIC will use the farm producer inputs from paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section to calculate a weighted average, which is the farm-level crop-specific CI.
(d) Farm producers must repeat paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section for each crop type that is sold as reduced-CI.