Step-by-step enrollment:
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Create an account
Upload boundary files or data spec
Run Smart Defaults - Historic Rotation
Run Smart Defaults - Future Rotations
Correct verifiable years with farm records
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5. Entering farm record data
Once you have run Smart Defaults for historic and crop rotations for future rotations, you now have a populated Spreadsheet. However, since these records are based on defaults, you'll need to update the spreadsheet with your farm records for the verifiable years. The verifiable years are the starting switch year to the present (the year you adopted regenerative practices), plus the 3 years prior to the switch. We will explain this in the section below. But we first want to orient you to the spreadsheet itself.
On the field boundaries page, you will find a button to "open records", under each field name. This will lead you to the Nori spreadsheet. The Nori spreadsheet is where all of your data will live. This sheet consists of a series of tabs: one named Inputs, one for each field in your project, and one for the energy use of the project.
Inputs - The inputs tab curates all of the agronomic management options to your specific operation and associates these options to a Soil Metrics Classification.
Field - Each field you upload within your Nori Project is contained within a single tab on the Nori Spreadsheet. Each tab will contain all agronomic data for that field from years 2000 - 2030.
Energy Usage - This final tab on the spreadsheet accounts for the energy usage of the farm operation. This information is not needed for a Soil Metrics model run. Nori may ask for it to account for the net carbon usage.
If you uploaded your records via a data spec, most of the work is already complete. However, if you are updating records manually, you will follow the steps below:
Populate / edit the inputs tab.
Populate / edit the data field by field.
Populating data field by field
Once the inputs tab is complete, it is time to begin entering data within each field. This will be the most time consuming step of the Nori process and is expedited by having all of your farm records organized prior to beginning this step.
Nori is organized on a field by field basis, not year by year, so select the field tab at the bottom of the page to begin.
We are guiding you to begin substituting the Smart Defaults data with your farm records for your verifiable years. These years are the years you adopted regenerative practices for each field, along with 3 years prior to the first year these practices were adopted (the switch year). The switch year is defined on a field by field basis.
If the field history or Switch Date for the specific field you are working on differs from your general practices defined in the inputs tab, it can be changed in the field tab. Select the “ + “ sign that is to the far left of the “Details” column title at the top of the spreadsheet to expand this section of the spreadsheet. Change any variables as needed, then select the “ - ” sign to re-collapse the field history section.
Scroll down the spreadsheet to the years highlighted in yellow to begin entering your data. These color codes (found in column C) highlight important years for your Nori Project. Years highlighted in yellow indicate years prior to the Switch Year that will be verified to show that practices changed and determine a baseline of soil organic carbon (SOC). The verifiable baseline is used to estimate the improvement of SOC due to conservation practices. Years highlighted in green indicate the management practice Switch Year through present. And the year that is italicized indicates the Nori project start year. Again, the Nori Project start year is the first year that a field is eligible for grandfathered NRTs, which is defined on a field by field basis, not a project basis. Enter data for all of the agronomic operations for the years highlighted in yellow or green. This section is the most intensive step of the Nori Program Enrollment as each cell needs to be validated from records. For guidance on each section, see the Explanation of Nori Spreadsheet cells for specific guidance for each variable.
Explanation of Nori Spreadsheet cells
The below table lists each type of data that is asked for in the Nori spreadsheet, with guidance on the importance and purpose of each variable to the Soil Metrics model. These rankings only reflect importance for Soil Metrics use and do not provide guidance on the importance to verification.
Priority key |
High | Required to run model |
Medium | Used to calculate input; Has low effect on carbon sequestration |
Low | The variable either has a very low impact on total carbon balance or is used for running other models within Soil Metrics, such as N20 or CH4 emissions. |
Input Category | Input Question | Soil Metrics use? | Notes |
Model Variable | Calculates Model Variable |
Planting & harvest | Crop (or cover crop) type | X |
| Crop must be associated with the year planted, not harvested. If more than one crop was planted in a year, list crops in chronological order of when the crop was planted. (see below) Soil Metrics will only accept three crops per year. If your operation plants >3 crops, reach out to support@nori.com for guidance.
|
| Date planted | X |
| If you have the records, fill in the specific date. If you do not have the records, an approximate date is adequate, give or take about a week of planting. Dates of annual crops lifecycles cannot overlap. For example, if a cover crop was relay planted into corn, move the planting date to the day following corn harvest. If a perennial crop was intercropped with an annual (e.g. oats), first list the perennial and follow with the information for the intercropped annual. Perennial crops will first be listed in the year they were planted. For all following years, leave the planting MM/DD section blank, but include the year of planting and the harvest + associated agronomic practices.
|
| Date harvested or killed | X |
| This date refers to when the crop was harvested (annuals and perennials) or when a crop was terminated (cover crop). For the final termination of a perennial, such as alfalfa, there must also be an associated termination event under the “Tillage / Termination” input category. An approximate date is adequate. Only include the harvest date for the primary product (ie. grain/fruit/tuber or silage is required) - If there are multiple harvest products (i.e. haylage), only the date of the primary harvest (i.e. corn grain) is required. Additional harvest products are recorded in Residue Removed (refer below). If a crop, such as winter wheat, is used in your operation, list the harvest date of the next year. within the same row (see below) Perennials, list a new crop per row for each associated harvest date (see below).
|
| Yield | X |
| |
| Was only the grain, fruit, or tuber harvested? | X |
| If the crop was harvested for grain, but the residue was removed (ie. haylage/balage), this is answered as “yes” with the percentage of residue removed included. If the crop was harvested strictly for silage or haylage, select “No”.
|
| Residue Removed | X |
| This question asks for any additional residue removed that was intentionally taken off of the field after harvest. This includes any additional harvest products ie. haylage/balage. For example, if corn was harvested for grain, but the stalks were removed after harvest, list the % of stalks removed on the same line as the crop type with original harvest date.
|
| Did you prune? | X |
| |
| Did you clear or renew? | X |
| |
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Tillage and Termination | Tillage type | X |
| Tillage / termination input category refers to any event where there was disturbance to the soil or a crop was terminated. This section includes herbicide burndown, but this should only be selected when herbicide burndown was used to terminate a crop (cover crop or perennial), not when it was applied as weed control or volunteer crop control. This section includes “No Till Planting” as this captures soil disturbance applied at planting when otherwise no tillage was applied. Therefore, only select this when used in a no tillage farming operation. Do not select if another tillage event took place. List tillage (soil disturbance / crop termination) in chronological order. Soil Metrics will read events chronologically and will associate events to the time period of a crop. Therefore it is common if the tillage (or subsequent agronomic practices) do not line up in the same row where the crop is listed. Fall tillage should be listed in the year prior to the crop it applies.
|
| Tillage date | X |
| |
|
Synthetic Nitrogen Fertilizers | Fertilizer type | X |
| Nori only requires data for synthetic fertilizers that contain nitrogen. The specific fertilizer type of N is not a major contributing factor in calculating carbon sequestration, though it is important in estimating N2O emissions. Soil Metrics only accepts one fertilizer application per day. Therefore, if you applied a cocktail of fertilizers, select “Mixed Blend”.
|
Fertilizer date | X |
| |
| Amount applied (lbs / acre) |
| X | |
| % Nitrogen |
| X | |
| Nitrogen applied (lbs N / acre) | X |
| Used to model biomass production. This variable is the most important in calculating biomass production. Therefore, if you know the total N applied on a given date, the other variables (amount of lb of product applied, % N) are not necessary. (see “Mixed Blend” below). This rate is associated across all of the acres on the field, hence variable rate applications will not be taken into consideration. Make sure this value reflects the field average.
|
| % Ammonium | X |
| |
| EEP | X |
| |
| Application Method | X |
| |
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Manure or compost | Manure type | X |
| This section accounts for any organic fertilizers. This could be manure, soybean meal, feather meal, etc.
|
Manure date | X |
| |
| Amount applied | X |
| |
| Moisture % |
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| Nitrogen % |
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| Ammonium Nitrogen %
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| Manure C:N ratio | X |
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| Transport Type |
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| Transport Miles |
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Irrigation | Irrigation date | X |
| All variables are important if irrigated. This section may be left blank if your operation is non - irrigated. If your irrigation is automated on a cycle, you may include a start / end date with the associated frequency (e.g. every 10 days). If irrigation was applied based on weather and not pattern, list each individual irrigation event and leave “frequency” and “date ended” blank.
|
| Irrigation volume (inches per acre) | X |
| |
| Frequency if multiple events (every N days) | X |
| |
| Date ended (optional) | X |
| |
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Grazing | Start date | X |
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| End date | X |
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| Resting days | X |
| |
| Utilization % | X |
| |
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Liming | Liming type | X |
| If no liming was applied, you can leave these fields blank. The liming type options are crushed, dolomitic, and calcitic. If unknown, choose crushed.
|
| Liming date | X |
| |
| Liming amount | X |
| |
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Did you do any burning? | No | X |
| Burning refers strictly to flaming a field (i.e. to remove biomass, weeds, etc) and does not refer to a herbicide burndown. Leave blank if no burning was applied.
|
Yes, before planting | X |
| |
| Yes, after planting | X |
| |
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Data Entry FAQs
What if I have more than 4 events to list? Are there more rows per crop?
You can add up to 16 events per year for a given section, though these additional rows are hidden. Select the + button to the right of the year to expand more rows.
