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Revenue from the allowance sales has fallen No agricultural carbon sequestration proj-
sharply this year, because fewer polluters are ects have been made eligible to earn credits
buying them. Some 52.6 million were sold in part because of a requirement that the car-
in August, down from 66.3 million the year bon remain in the ground for 100 years, an
earlier, and only 21.2 million were sold in May, impossible standard for agriculture to meet,
down from 66.3 million in May 2019. The said Gabriele Ludwig, director of sustainability
average price of the allowances this year is and environmental affairs for the Almond Board
under $17 a ton. of California. Almond growers had hoped to get
As of the 2019-2020 budget year, $294 mil- offset credits for whole orchard recycling, which
lion in allowance revenue had been allocated involves grinding trees into chips and discing
to the dairy methane program. Projects being them into the soil. The practice not only seques-
implemented by California dairy farms are ters carbon but also has been shown to increase
expected to reduce their methane emissions yields in the new orchards after several years.
by 25% compared to what they were in 2013,
according to the California Department of Food Soil carbon markets face practical
and Agriculture. However, some farms have had hurdles, critics
challenges selling the power into the grid, while Nationwide, even a startup $15-a-ton carbon
others are using the energy for milking parlors market faces technical and regulatory bar-
or to power vehicles, said Taylor Roschen of the riers, and there are critics, including many
California Farm Bureau Federation.
environmental groups, that don’t believe the
She said some funds from the program also have reduction greenhouse gas emissions will be
been used in ways similar to USDA’s Environ- meaningful or lasting.
mental Quality Incentives Program to help Other critics fear that the markets will primarily
farmers pay for improvements to soil manage- benefit certain regions, the Midwest in particu-
ment practices, irrigations systems, and manure lar, and large-scale growers and livestock pro-
management systems. Still, “funding has been ducers who can afford the costs of cover crops,
inconsistent and it’s been a fight every year to methane disasters and other improvements.
ensure funds are dedicated to ag work and that
programs aren’t narrowed to be accessible to Many environmentalists aren’t convinced that
only the few,” she said. agriculture can be used effectively to offset
greenhouse gas emissions.
There is currently some discussion about mak-
ing it possible farmers to earn offsets for carbon Craig Cox, senior vice president of agriculture
sequestration practices. and natural resources for the Environmen-
tal Working Group, says there are continuing
Methane capture projects on dairy and swine
farms can currently qualify for offsets, and rice concerns that agricultural carbon sequestration
farms can earn credits for practices that make won’t be permanent, which is the reason for
documented reductions in methane emissions California’s tough rules on offset credits. “The
from their fields. As of September, the Califor- carbon that’s sequestered is pretty vulnerable to
nia Air Resources Board had issued over 200 being rereleased to the atmosphere” when farm-
million offset credits; only 3% originated with ers change practices or break up land, he said.
livestock farms and none of the offsets came Scientists with the World Resources Insti-
from rice projects. Most offsets have come from tute argue that many regenerative agriculture
forest projects. practices can in fact improve soil health “and

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