Beef Magazine

What’s Your Take on Carbon Credits?

Amanda Nolz February 26th, 2009

In a time where many cattle producers are exiting the business, ranchers may need to find new ways to add value and generate revenue in their operations. Many ranchers are exploring carbon sequestration as a viable resource to increase profits. Carbon sequestration is the capture and secure storage of carbon that would otherwise be emitted to or remain in the atmosphere. Meanwhile, carbon credits are the equivalent of one metric ton of CO2/acre/year.



Carbon credits are used to prevent and reduce carbon emissions produced by human activities from reaching the atmosphere by capturing and diverting them to secure storage. Carbon credits also work to remove carbon from the atmosphere by various means of storage. Carbon is lost through the soil through the shifting of land usage from grass and trees to crops and development, cultivation, increased aeration, and natural soil erosion. Improved carbon management in agricultural soils improves soil quality.

The Chicago Climate Exchange is a greenhouse gas emission reduction program with voluntary, self-regulatory members who have made a legally binding commitment to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gasses by six percent by 2010. Carbon credit aggregators manage and administer carbon “pools” which are sold on the Chicago Climate Exchange. The carbon stored in the soil creates an offset, and in that offset, rests the opportunity for the producer.

Could this be the next big opportunity for farmers and ranchers to increase their earning power simply with better managing practices? Are you already involved in this program or thinking about it? What’s your take on carbon sequestration? I know of a few producers that have started these projects and have already found great success with this program. If you have never explored this option before, head to the Frequently Asked Questions at the Chicago Climate Exchange today.

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6 Comments to “What’s Your Take on Carbon Credits?”

1. chuck white Says:
   

   February 26th, 2009 at 5:58 am

   the whole carbon credit concept is “bull crap”

2. Mark Diehl Says:
   

   February 26th, 2009 at 3:24 pm

   A few month ago EPA released a study on the amount of methane gas expelled from beef & dairy cows each year to calulate there carbon foot print. The conclusion was based on their findings is that beefs should be taxed at a rate of $87.50 per year per cow or around $25,000.00 per year for our herd. So, I would need to get $5.00 to $10.00 an acre to pay for my cows farts. I would get that money from some industry needing carbon credits, pay my cow fart tax & then likely be asessed income tax for the revenue I recieved. It’s all a scam!

3. Steven Griffin Says:
   

   February 26th, 2009 at 5:09 pm

   The adage “Be careful what you pray for, you might get it” is relevant here when it comes to carbon credits. A “cap and trade” system under which carbon credits are created, fundamental means the industry that provides the credits must also be capped. The livestock industry with its methane belching cows and manure producing hogs and chickens are high emitters of CO2. It is doubtful that a rancher will be able to sequester enough carbon in his rangeland soils to offset his belching cows much less sell some credits.

   The biofuel people are seeing the environmental advantage spent on so-called indirect losses (i.e., corn diverted to ethanol increase deforestation (and the carbon losses) in Brazil. Who knows what the indirect costs of livestock production (e.g., slaughter, refrigeration, transportation, meal preparation) could be if tallied back to the rancher.

   Keep agriculture out of the carbon game. We will only lose.

4. Ernest Lally Says:
   

   February 26th, 2009 at 5:21 pm

   This is “nuts”. Carbon credits??? Let’s start a program to store air! Everyone with a car would get a credit.

5. Laura Negley Says:
   

   March 2nd, 2009 at 2:27 am

   I would caution all those in production agriculture to look very closely at the details of these carbon credit programs that are being offered. I was very interested in the possible “Golden Opporunity” of carbon credit trading as a means to help us improve our financial situation. My husband and I farm and ranch in southeastern Colorado. This region of the U.S. is arid and we have been plagued with ongoing drought for 8 years. We raise dryland wheat and a run a commercial cow herd. We use a managed grazing system with stringent monitoring which I am happy to say has allowed us to continue to run cattle (reduced numbers) on our grass when others have had to completely liquidate their herds. I have a very congenial and beneficial relationship with the local NRCS and Extension, both agencies providing guidance and assistance in my grazing program. Indeed, I felt somewhat vindicated when I was approved for a CSP (Conservation Security Program) contract this past year. Imagine my dismay when I discovered at a informational carbon credit meeting that my management practices actually made me ineligible for selling carbon credits. Because I have maintained a healthy ecosystem my pastures have a limited capacity for furthur carbon sequestration. In fact, it appears that those that had the worst conservation practices resulting in degraded and debilitated pasture/ grassland would be most qualified. (Granted, they are expected to implement the very practices that I have been using for over 10 years.) Even though I understand the science behind this it frustrates me that, once again, those who have failed to recognize the inherent value of good grassland management seem to benefit financially while those of us who have already instituted such practices will miss out on this opportunity. Additionally, only continuous crop systems qualify for contract, making our crop acres ineligible as we must use a crop/fallow rotation due to our arid climate. We also discovered that our CRP acres were ineligible as well as they were in place prior to 1997. I would encourage anyone interested in carbon credit trading to take a very close look at what is expected before getting too excited.

6. Kevin Hoge Says:
   

   March 2nd, 2009 at 1:22 pm

   I’m just a rancher but I thought our biggest worry was Methane by cows, on national news last week they now say our total methane put out by all of ag is 3% not 18% when do you start believing the experts?????????

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