Building trust in food begins with empowering farmers through one of the largest and most diverse conservation- and sustainability-focused public-private partnerships in our nation’s history: America’s Conservation Ag Movement. To find the latest news and resources related to the Movement, visit AgWeb.com/ACAM.
Soon you might earn a living not just from what you grow on top of the soil but on what you’re helping to store inside of it.
Carbon sequestration can offer promise or pitfalls for your farm.
“In the absence of a national policy, carbon markets are a bit of a Wild West,” says Laura Sands, principal at K•Coe Isom and sustainable ag expert. “Verification is key. The higher the certainty around the emission reductions, the higher the value of the credits, at least in theory. But verification can be costly.”
Before you enroll, it’s worth asking: What is a carbon market?
In its simplest form, a carbon market helps businesses offsetting carbon sell offsets as credits to firms such as General Motors, Microsoft and Shell that produce greenhouse gas emissions as part of their everyday activities.
Offset Carbon, Earn Credit
An offsetting business could be a farm incorporating cover crops or trees. These practices have a net positive environmental benefit, according to the GHG and Carbon Sequestration Ranking Tool from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Carbon markets offer both economic and environmental value to farmers, according to a report published by Ecosystem Services Market Consortium (ESMC). (Editor’s note: Farm Journal’s Trust In Food is an ESMC member.) It estimated $5.2 billion in demand for carbon credits from U.S. ag lands.
A separate study from the journal Science Advances found building soil carbon and using other natural climate solutions in farms and forests could offset up to 21% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
What to Know: Carbon Contracts
In the exciting — and rapidly evolving — world of carbon markets, there’s an overarching rule of thumb to help farmers: Take your time, advises Laura Sands, principal at K•Coe Isom. She offers these tips.
- Understand how the contracting entity is measuring carbon. Make sure the organization you are working with does not have a conflict of interest in the measurement process. Confirm projections for the potential sequestration are in line with what other industry experts say.
- Know the risks of a reversal. In most carbon contracts, there is some sort of mechanism if you fail to sequester carbon.
- Confirm how dollars flow. Some systems include hold backs or percentages the organization you are contracting with takes off the top.
- Assess contract terms, length and exit clauses. Understand what you are committing to and for what period of time. Some contracts ask landowners to abide by rules, policies or amendments — and there might not a mechanism in place for farmers unwilling to abide by the rules.
How Some Leading Carbon Markets Compare
Click here or on the image below for a high-resolution PDF.
To learn more about the tools, incentives and points of differentiation each of these carbon markets offer to farmers, visit: AgWeb.com/carbon-markets
