Latest News From Carbon

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.

Rob Myers brings his expertise in soil health, conservation and crop diversification to help farmers, landowners and ag retailers create a resilient agriculture industry.

USDA’s Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation talks carbon and goals.

The initiative is designed to help create a unique digital carbon footprint measurement to drive more sustainable supply chains and mitigate the impact agriculture has on the environment.

There were three lesson from the first year, according to Jason Weller: 1. Retailers need a return 2. Farmers need support 3. Data lift is significant

The company says its program will help farmers reduce their CO2 emissions and will be launched in phases starting next year.

In most scenarios, companies want to incentivize growers by paying them to use regenerative farming practices, especially no-till and cover crops, on ground where they haven’t used such practices previously.

The $1.2T infrastructure bill passed through the House following months of negotiation. Farm country can expect $550 billion in new spending. AgriTalk’s Chip Flory and Pro Farmer’s Jim Wiesemeyer take a closer look.

Via this partnership, farmers are eligible for two payments. Bayer will pay its $3, $6, $9/acre incentives. CHS will offer financial incentives for its enhanced efficiency fertilizers: N-Edge, Trivar and Levesol. 

Chip Flory and Jim Wiesemeyer recap last week's Day of Ethanol on AgriTalk and discuss where other fossil fuels may stand. Plus, when will the latest Infrastructure bill(s) be voted on in the House?

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and Rep. Cindy Axne joined AgriTalk with host Chip Flory and Pro Farmer Policy Analyst Jim Wiesemeyer recently to comb through President Biden’s reframe of the Build Back Better (BBB) plan.

The right timing of nitrogen aplications are important, but K-State's Chuck Rice is digging deeper to learn how to reduce nitrogen losses by 50%, an impact that's both economically and environmentally sound.

Global commodities trader Cargill Inc is launching a carbon farming program for the 2022 season that will pay growers for production practices that lower emissions and capture more climate-warming carbon in soils.

Cristian Barcan: “Feeding the world more sustainably is about continuous improvement. Every farm has a unique sustainability journey that has defined their success as a contributor to the food supply chain thus far”

Good data forms the framework for management decisions Lukas Fricke and his brother make on their Ulysses, Neb., farm operation, including the one they made recently to sign a carbon contract.

The carbon market is poised for growth but farmers are still looking for reliable information, return on investment and assurances that they won't be unfairly penalized or lose control over their operations.

Under this collaboration, the Growmark System’s network of FS branded retailers will help farmers navigate the soil carbon market with Carbon by Indigo.

After participating in four carbon market pilot programs in the past two years, Kyle Mehmen has learned a lot about the opportunity, and perhaps even more about what not to do. 

Soil carbon sequestration can become an important mitigation strategy if there is agreed upon, credible, cost-effective and consistent measurement, reporting and verification behind the credits, according to researchers.