Iowa farmer Kyle Mehmen is bullish on carbon. Why?
“I feel like the first days of the carbon markets will be the best days,” he says. “Get in now. Carbon markets pay for practices I already believe in and use — no-till and cover crops. They’re a risk management tool that provide an additional income stream.”
As general manager at MBS Family Farms, Mehmen has crop acres enrolled in four different programs.
Mehmen will join Farm Journal Editor Clinton Griffiths to answer your questions and share his experiences with carbon programs at 9 a.m. Central on June 22.
Register now!
Farm Journal’s Portia Stewart previews the webinar with AgriTalk’s Chip Flory:
Many carbon contracts today pay farmers an average of $10 to $20 per acre, according to program details collected in the Farm Journal Carbon Innovation Center.
The carbon market is in its infancy stage, Mehmen says. As such, the complexity of contracts and requirements vary greatly between programs.
“Some will be hard to enroll in, but you may benefit more,” he says. “If it is easy to do, it probably won’t pay the most. But that’s OK since it means there are opportunities for everyone.”
Farmers skeptical of lower-paying programs need to remember the value of scale.
“A little number times a big number becomes a bigger number,” Mehmen says. “If it’s $20 an acre times 1,000 acres that’s $20,000. If it’s $20 an acre times 10,000 acres it’s $200,000. Either way, both are worth working for.”
You can submit your carbon related questions in the Farm Journal Carbon Innovation Center. Mehmen will answer as many questions as time allows during the June 22 webinar.
Register for the Farm Journal webinar featuring Mehmen.
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