by Rhiannon Branch (Brownfield Ag News) Interest and growth in carbon market programs is booming. A recent
ecosystem markets webinar hosted by the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership had more than 1600 participants registered with more than 600 questions submitted ahead of time.
Speaker Kari Hernandez, Global Head of Carbon Operations and Offer Marketing with
Indigo Ag says demand for high quality carbon credits is on the rise and demand is slow to catch up.
“With over 30% of Fortune500 companies making climate neutrality commitments, more and more are going to be looking for carbon offsets to be a part of their plan to get there. The Boston Consulting Group is already stating publicly that they expect to be paying $35 per credit in a few more years and as much as $80 per credit by the end of the decade.”
Ruby Howell
Pratt Tribune
Carbon credits for farmers are a new innovative and incentivizing way for farmers to regeneratively practice farming right here in our own backyards and get money from businesses that want to offset their own emissions. However, there are some inequitable challenges to be worked out before the playing field is level. According to the EPA, farming and agriculture actually makes up about 12% of global greenhouse emissions, so it’s important for farmers to reduce their carbon footprint, too. But, the average Kansas farmer cannot compete with big business when it comes to paying to offset emissions. What if I told you that there may be a way for farmers and ranchers to work together with businesses wanting to offset carbon emissions that benefits the climate and the farmers?
Climate Collision
Sarah Bowman and London Gibson, Indianapolis Star
Published
11:23 am UTC Jan. 18, 2021
Rick Clark was out working the field on his farm near Williamsport, Ind. one day, 16 years ago. Then a one-inch rain rolled in.
He didn’t think anything of it at the time, he said. That is, until the next morning, when Clark drove his truck out and saw the soil streaming from his farm into a nearby ditch.
That was the exact moment he knew: The way he had farmed his land for decades was draining the life from it.
“That’s when it just hit me,” Clark said. “It’s time to make a change.”