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work, which not only reduces his carbon foot- American Farm Bureau Federation, National
print but helps curb pollution that for decades Farmers Union, the National Council of Farmer
contributed to the Chesapeake’s large oxy- Cooperatives as well as two major environmen-
gen-deprived dead zones. tal groups, the Environmental Defense Fund

Programs like CSP can’t guarantee farmers and The Nature Conservancy. Other alliance
long-term income — funding for the program partners include: FMI — The Food Industry
is capped by the farm bill and farmers like Kent Association, National Alliance of Forest Owners,
have no assurance of getting their five-year and the National Association of State Depart-
contracts renewed. Kent says his conservation ments of Agriculture.
practices are crucial in his profitability and he The group calls for one-time government
won’t stop doing what he’s doing. “We’re going payments to “early adopters,” farmers that
to continue those practices after CSP; that’s not have already undertaken carbon-sequestration
going to change ... I’m going to continue those practices.
practices for sure.”
The group also endorsed making farmers eli-
gible to earn transferable tax
credits for emission reductions,
but that would require congres-
We’re .going .to .continue . sional approval, and tax legisla-
those .practices .after .CSP; . tion could be especially difficult
to move through a closely
that’s .not .going .to .change . divided Congress over the next

—Wes Kent two years.

Several other private credit
markets or carbon payment
programs are already in the
But he’s not locked into these practices once his works or in operation. They include:
contract ends, and there is no guarantee that The Ecosystem Services Market Consortium,
other farmers will continue the practices when whose founders include food and agribusiness
their contracts expire, reversing some or all of companies such as General Mills, McDonald’s
the environmental gains. and Cargill, is already paying a few farmers in
Enter the idea of ag carbon markets. preliminary transactions and intends to open
a broad-based private carbon market in 2022,
A top adviser to Biden is proposing to create paying farmers for a full menu of emission
a carbon bank at USDA that would buy and reducing practices.
sell carbon credits from farmers using a reverse
action technique in which farmers bid the prices Indigo Ag, a high-tech farmer services firm,
they want to be paid. The credits would then be invited growers in mid-2019 to make 10-year
sold to corporations such as energy companies commitments to sequester soil carbon at $15 per
that need to offset their greenhouse gas emissions. verified ton. American farmers have contracted
7.5 million cropland acres to apply climate-saving
The concept has won the endorsement of a new
coalition of farm, food, forestry and environ- practices for 10 years and have already imple-
mental groups, called the Food and Agriculture mented practice changes on over 1 million acres.
Climate Alliance. The coalition includes the A year ago, the Seattle-based Nori Carbon

30 www.Agri-Pulse.com