Latest News From Carbon

“What we need to do to move carbon past the starting line is to show farmers the scoreboard and tell them exactly what they need to do to earn their points,” said Mitchell Hora.  

A new partnership between Corteva, Bunge and Chevron to create proprietary canola hybrids will boost vegetable oil supplies to fuel the renewable diesel market while also creating a new revenue stream for farmers. 

Most carbon programs available to farmers have required a change in practice, which left many long-term users of no-till practices and cover crops on the sidelines. However, 2023 is shaping up as a turning point.

It’s a big idea with far-reaching implications for ag retail—the environmental, social and governance (ESG) framework.

United Airlines is teaming up with a corn ethanol maker in a bid to ramp up production of green jet fuel to deal with carbon credits and climate change by 2028.

Tom Ryan says this will be a transformational year for two reasons: the groundswell of efforts with USDA Climate Smart grants and a shifting focus to carbon insets.

Currently, most voluntary carbon programs are based on payment for a change of practice on the farm. But what’s the tipping point for farmers to make any change in exchange for enrollment in a carbon program? 

“The funds awarded today by the DOE will undoubtedly accelerate the innovations taking place at U.S. ethanol plants, opening new opportunities for low-cost, low-carbon energy,” says Growth Energy's Emily Skor.

Profitability and efficiency are big drivers for growers evaluating conservation-based farming practices. Each farmer who spoke at the Trust In Food Symposium said they have adopted at least one such practice, to date.

Indigo says its program doubled in acres in 2022. 

The House on Friday averted a government shutdown by voting 225 to 201 in favor of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023—the omnibus spending bill. Here's what's in it for ag.

Text of the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package was released early Tuesday morning. The Senate will vote first and intends to pass the measure before Thursday, leaving the House no time to demand changes.

Members of the bloc agreed on how to create a tool that will force foreign companies to pay for the cost of their carbon emissions.

Cover crops sequestered nearly three times as much greenhouse gas as the check fields. And acres with cover crops were carbon negative

“We rely on the support of farm bill funding and programs to ensure continued U.S. leadership as the provider of the best seed to the world," said Katy Rainey, Purdue associate professor, at the Senate Ag hearing.

Three key findings from the report include: Farmers are aware of carbon markets but not ready to engage; Producers want credit for existing practices; Data capture, management and validation is fragmented.

Dairy producers could soon serve up a climate solution that creates significant economic incentives for their farm. Jeff Simmons thinks dairy farmers are just years from making more money off carbon than milk products.

The future of voluntary carbon markets for agriculture is still coming into focus. As such, farmers continue to assess the landscape and weigh their opportunities.

Farmland and input price jumps in 2022 continue to be top-of-mind for producers as they look to 2023. Interest in carbon sequestration has also spiked. Here's a look at the latest Ag Barometer with Purdue's Jim Mintert.

“Verification is no longer about binders full of documentation," said Dane Braun, Vice President of Farm Strategy at Bushel.

University of Missouri, South Dakota University and Iowa Soybean Association were named winners at the Farm Progress show in Boone, Ia. on Tuesday. Vilsack noted requests from over 1,000 applications topped $20 billion.

Land O’Lakes is aiming to straighten the path for more farmers to adopt more regenerative practices across their acres, and in doing so building a wider funnel of farmers who could enroll in carbon markets.

To foster a strong agriculture carbon market, three “science gaps” need to be addressed

Broader than carbon alone, ForGround aims to encompass regenerative agricultural practices and technologies and then connect those in-field decisions to downstream companies and their sustainability goals. 

Despite the exponential growth in agricultural carbon market options, most producers aren’t biting.

“I feel like every day is one day closer to having the President declare a climate emergency,” says Newlin. “Once that happens, I don’t know what it will mean for ag, or what it’s going to open up the door to."

Biden spoke up in Massachusetts on Wednesday to deliver his administration’s executive action climate plans in lieu of Manchin’s decision, including offshore wind, bolstered utilities and workplace heat inspections.

The Carbon Sequestration Collaboration Act aims to increase agriculture and forestry’s current 13% carbon capture rate by establishing more research and development programs in land use.

According to the USDA, 2020 farming activities in the U.S. made up 11.2 percent, or 670 of 5,981 million metrics tons, of the U.S.’s total carbon contribution.

The Agoro Carbon program is a 10-year contract which pays for a change practice aiming to increase carbon sequestration. These include cover crops, no-till, reduced tillage, nitrogen management and rotational grazing.

One goal of the project is to have carbon market enrollment easier for retailers as they assist farmers with exploring those opportunities.

Via 175 participating farmers, Indigo announces its Carbon by Indigo program has generated, verified and sold 20,000 credits to 17 buyers.

Mariah Murphy says, “The future state of carbon markets will continue to evolve over the next 1 to 2 years. We are still going to be in the messy space."

While companies have big aspirations for carbon programs, they are simultaneously recognizing changes that need to be made to increase participation. 

Dylan Barth shares the success CFS has had in building a precision ag program to cover more than 300,000 acres and be able to help growers change their agronomic decisions in light of changing ROI equations

Nutrien announced this week it will build the world’s largest clean ammonia production facility in Geismar, Louisiana, to “decarbonize agriculture.”

Cover crops, conservation tillage, irrigation optimization, fertilizers and pesticides all have a fit on Rondo Farms, but only when they're right for the land, the agronomy and the financials.

In April, Truterra announced a springboard for its focus in soil health. A network of agronomists will facilitate implementation of agronomic practices alongside its retail agronomists and their farmer customers.

The program is open for corn, cotton and wheat growers, and outlines a specific parameter for participation: a 5% reduction in nitrogen rates.

McKaskle Family Farm finds ways to prove additionality in their long-standing regenerative operation.

The plan is to capture CO2 from the fermentation process of the plants in a five-state region, compress it into liquid form, then move it by pipeline to North Dakota for storage.

A bipartisan group of senators penned a letter to President Biden, urging his administration to mitigate rising fuel costs by increasing higher blends of American biofuels.

“Agriculture is one of the key solutions in a more carbon positive future,” says Mitchell Hora.

Input costs are high across the board this year. In leu of low glyphosate availability and increasing costs, whispers of an alternative have trickled down to Bayer’s research and development team.

Grassroots Carbon has provided payment to 10 Texas ranchers for their adoption of reversative grazing pastures which have resulted in nature-based, measured, verified and certified carbon credits.

Wiesemeyer says “you don’t spend some $300 million on these [soybean crushing] plants without a solid foundation of a market in the future.”

According to Brett Bruggeman, president of WinField United, the opportunities around carbon markets are bringing a stratification in the ag retail business.

These charter members bring a range of expertise and the drive to share the financial and ecological benefits of carbon programs. 

When we think of carbon credits, we often think of renewable energy markets like wind, solar and electric vehicles. Hemp is proven to absorb more CO2 per acre than any forest or commercial crop.

Understand how and why you are paid for carbon.