Think Like a Carbon Manager
Farmers need to stay engaged in climate discussions and position themselves to continue to improve their land while boosting profits
Jacqui Fatka
Published: Dec 8, 2010
American farmers may have dodged climate change legislation from Washington, D.C. But it doesn't diminish the fact that it remains on the radar worldwide. And as profit-minded good stewards of the land, it is important for farmers to think like carbon managers and learn how each practice impacts the environment and be well-positioned as some try to rein in emissions.
"As farmers we need to realize our entire existence relies on managing the environment," says Idaho farmer Dick Wittman, who serves on the Ag Carbon Working Group. Wittman accompanied a team of U.S. farmers to Brazil to study climate change issues.
"Understanding the carbon we have in our factory along with soil quality and how we're releasing carbon into the atmosphere is an important issue we haven't always taken seriously in the past," he says. "It's important to understand what our role is as a carbon manager and our carbon footprint on society."
Food retailers like Wal-Mart and McDonalds have already started putting more pressure on suppliers to measure carbon footprint from seed to the table. Those sustainable policies will filter down to you as producer.
The U.S., as a whole has been in denial when it comes to addressing climate concerns and carbon footprint, he says. When you travel elsewhere in the world, the mentality is "what is changing in our environments and how do we adapt our industry to these changes?"
Offset markets
The current offset market might reward U.S. farmers 12-13 cents per acre for actions such as no-till. "The real value is trying to establish ourselves as a credible resource for large corporations who need to buy credits," states Fred Yoder, Ohio farmer and another member of the Ag Carbon Working Group.
Yoder and Dwayne Siekman, executive director of the Ohio Corn Growers Association, have traveled to Brazil to work with the Aliança da Terra on establishing a partnership between U.S. and Brazilian farmers on carbon sequestration efforts to ensure sustainability and participate in future opportunities in offset markets. Aliança works with farmers to create solutions for conservation that are economically viable and acceptable.
Siekman says the Ohio Corn Growers are exploring ways to bridge the knowledge gap with farmers regarding carbon sequestration. No-till is one of the low hanging fruits for farmers to get into this market, but other potential offsets include methane capture and reduction of nitrous oxides.
The missing piece of the puzzle is establishing a low-cost way for verification, Yoder says.
Some research is being done to calculate carbon savings by entering in the conservation practice, accounting for fertility and then verifying the process. This would be cheaper than going out and physically measuring each and every acre for sequestration.
Wittman says every commodity group is engaging in specific practices that are positive for the environment, whether it is sequestering carbon, reducing fossil fuel consumption, conserving energy and water or capturing methane. "All these things are good things - whether or not we get paid or solve global problems," he adds.
The bottom line is there's a double benefit to more sustainable practices. As you save soil and water and improve soil quality, you also boost profits by reducing inputs, equipment and labor costs.
For U.S. producers, it is important to stay engaged in the discussion and look at the opportunities as well as the threats that come along with climate change. Wittman suggests developing a strategic plan and getting engaged in the legislative framework.
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Tagged: no-till, labor, sustainability, accounting, ohio farmer
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