February 26, 2021
A tiny cornstalk sprouts from the earth and emerges among the wheat stubble in a no till operation. Image by Shutterstock/Samray
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Are you fully caffeinated? This week, I’ll try to untangle one of the more complex, confusing and contentious aspects of our food systems: the emerging market for soil carbon offsets. I’ve been talking to people in this area for several months. Everyone was polite, but it’s clear that divisions run deep. I want to try to make sense of those divisions so you can figure out how to engage or not in the market. Coffee ready? Let’s dive in.
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Folded arms and furrowed brows
among frustrated farmers greeted former Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC) at a National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) meeting in the mid-2010s. Inglis was then a rarity among Republican legislators. He made his case for market-based solutions to mitigate the impact of human-influenced climate change. On that day, though, not many farmers wanted to hear it. “You could just feel the tension in the room, the feeling that this guy was full of it,” recalls Brandon Hunnicutt, a Giltner, Nebraska, farmer, who is involved with several NCGA boards. Many farmers skeptically view the concept of climate change. This skepticism, though, may be as much rooted in fear of government control as distrust in climate science, says Ben Riensche, a Jesup, Iowa, farmer.
As the climate policy debate ramps up in Congress and the incoming Biden administration, there are a variety of ideas about how to measure, incentivize and regulate more sustainable practices. The 2021 Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit will offer a chance to engage with a wide variety of policy makers and industry experts about what changes may be on the horizon.
Join us virtually March 22-24 for three half-days of thought-provoking educational sessions!
“President-elect Joe Biden made action on climate change a key part of his campaign platform and has pledged to focus on climate in every federal agency. He’s not alone,” says