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Farmers to companies: Feeding pigs corn that was produced with cover
Show us the money crops, or using sorghum rather than corn,
could both lower the farm’s carbon footprint,
The big question for farmers and ranchers — potentially giving the producer an edge over
and for many of the companies trying to show competitors.
that they are reducing their environmental
footprint — is whether and how producers will Lillibridge, the Iowa grower, says it’s currently
be compensated. hard to measure the economic benefits of cover
crops, making it difficult to know whether they
That depends on a number of factors, includ- are worth the investment. He said that planting
ing the development of private credit markets, cover crops adds $40 to $50 an acre to his costs.
which experts say will require a reliable system
of measuring and verifying emissions reductions. Numerous research projects are underway in the
Farm bill programs generally only provide only Midwest, South and elsewhere to determine the
short-term financial assistance, though they costs and benefits of those and other practices
could be expanded. depending on the farmer’s location, the timing
of the cover crop seeding, and other factors.
The benefits to farmers may not necessarily be
direct compensation, or through the selling of “We can see a cover crop is keeping the soil
ag carbon credits. For example, a carbon foot- green and its developing root systems (to aid in
print calculator being developed by the National water runoff) and capturing nutrients. We all
Pork Board would allow producers to make realize that that is a good thing but we don’t
adjustments to their feed or other operations to know how to measure it and it costs money,”
make their hogs more appealing to a processor. said Lillibridge.

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