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Environment

Spreading rock dust on farms boosts crop yields and captures CO2

We already have evidence that rock dust can remove carbon dioxide from the air – now there are signs that spreading the dust on farm fields also enhances crop growth

By James Dinneen

28 March 2024

Spreading crushed basalt rock on a field in England

Basalt rock dust being scattered on a field in the UK

Image courtesy of UNDO

Spreading crushed rock on farms is gaining traction as a method of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Now, two independent tests of the approach on farms in the US Midwest and in the UK have found it can also substantially increase crop yields.

“It’s very encouraging,” says David Beerling at the University of Sheffield in the UK, whose team tested the approach on an experimental farm in Illinois.

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