Tech aims to turn burn piles into profits for tree fruit growers

A new ag tech company wants to help orchardists get paid for their climate-friendly farming practices. 

“Without a doubt, our ability to sell carbon credits is the big sell right now,” said Ben Bardsley, the founder of BX, a software platform designed to help growers track their sustainability and monetize making greener choices. 

While entire regulatory markets have been built around greenhouse-gas-reducing practices for other ag sectors, such as the dairy industry, the fruit industry has seen little activity. Bardsley hopes to change that, starting with a softball: burn piles. 

If growers forgo burning in favor of chipping old trees and then contract those chips to be converted into carbon-rich biochar, that practice could be worth $350 per acre in the current voluntary carbon-offset market, Bardsley said. His company is partnering with biochar facilities.