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the incentives in place so we’re not incentiviz- and nitrous oxide (from ammonia) emissions
ing production in lands that should not have with biodigesters and other climate-smart waste
crops,” said Cristel Zoebisch, NSAC’s climate management practices. The Intergovernmental
policy specialist. Panel on Climate Change says those two gases,
respectively, contribute 58 and 206 times more
Also, scale is important, Zoebisch says, and
“what we’ve seen is that carbon markets tend per pound to atmospheric global warming than
to work for larger scale operations.” Big cor- the carbon dioxide that comes from tailpipes.
porations ready to pay farmers to store carbon So, when Wes Kent’s Winding River farms puts
“might not be interested in reaching out to the nutrients from manure, turkey litter, and cow
small-scale farmers,” she said. bedding back into the soil, keeping it away from
NSAC and the Environmental Working Group streams and the air, it’s a punch against climate
would like to put more money into farm bill change. “Animal agriculture is not the problem
conservation programs with a focus on promot- people say it is; it’s a solution to climate change,”
ing regenerative agriculture practices. “I’m a he said.
huge, huge fan of soil health and regenerative Meanwhile, some alternative paths may emerge
agricultural praise and agroecological practices,” to bring farmers value for soil carbon. A better
said EWG’s Cox. “I would love to see CSP deal on a farm loan, for example, or a discount
really, really focus on getting those practices out on crop insurance rates.
on the landscape,” he said. The Biden advisers’ Climate21 report and the
But Congress is not scheduled to pass a new new Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance
farm bill until 2023, and the incoming Biden both want the incoming administration to con-
administration appears moving more quickly sider how to use the crop insurance program to
than that. Also, CSP funding is dropping signifi- incentivize climate-friendly practices. The Cli-
cantly under the 2018 farm bill, so lawmakers mate21 report said that adjusting crop insurance
would have to find more funding just to keep its rates and policies would have “the potential to
funding level with that it has been getting. influence management practices across tens of
millions of acres, if not more.”
ESMC’s Reed insists smaller scale farmers will
benefit from generating carbon offsets because A California-based group, Land Core, is
farmers and ranchers can earn credits from many completing “an actuarially sound model of
climate-smart crop, pasture and livestock practices. the risk-mitigating benefits of soil health

Further, she says, to ensure longevity to the practices” to be available as a tool for lenders
climate-friendly practices, ESMC participants and insurers to plug into farm loans and
will have to make 10-year commitments to insurance of farm assets.
maintain them. “We are track-
ing every single year for 10
years … (and) every year is a
new year, and you get paid for What .we’ve .seen .is .that .
everything you do that year,” carbon .markets .tend .
she says. to .work .for .larger .scale .

Livestock operators can claim a operations . .
big slice of agriculture’s GHG
reductions, cutting methane —Cristel Zoebisch, .NSAC

38 www.Agri-Pulse.com