Page 16 - C:\Users\sandi\OneDrive\Documents\Flip PDF Professional\Ebook-AgriculturesSustainableFuture-Final\
P. 16

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.



               16                                   www.Agri-Pulse.com
   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21