Farmers earning carbon credits for sale on Chicago Climate Exchange
Some people believe the atmosphere is overloaded with carbon, contributing to global warming. The biggest emissions of carbon dioxide come from burning fossil fuels.
Several years ago, a few big multi-national companies such as Ford Motor, DuPont, and International Paper, joined together to form the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX).
The CCX is a market approach to the problem rather than a government mandate.
Members are committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 4 percent by the end of this year and another 2 percent by 2010.
Some enterprises can reduce carbon emissions more cheaply than others, so they can get credit and sell some of their reduction to others to help them meet their goal. That's where farmers can play a role.
Under a pilot program introduced last year, farmers in Kansas and other midwestern states earn credits by sequestering carbon in the soil through no-till, ridge-till, or planting grass as a cover crop.
Those credits are collected by Iowa Farm Bureau, which aggregates them into a large pool of credits and sells the credits on the CCX.
The buyers pay IFB, and the money is dispersed to the contracted producers.
According to Mike Miller of IFB, the carbon content of soil is estimated to be one-half to three-quarters of a ton per acre. Farmers receive one credit for every ton of carbon kept in the soil.
Last year, 72 producers in Kansas enrolled more than 75,000 acres in the program. One farmer in Marion County is a participant.
Prices received are running about $1 per acre for land in no-till and $1.50 per acre for land in new grass plantings on cropland.
Miller said the target level of reductions in carbon dioxide emissions as set by members of CCX has been surpassed and is at 13 percent.
He said the program has been successful because there is a market incentive to participate.
A description of this carbon credit pilot project can be found at www.iowafarmbureau.com/special/carbon/default.aspx.
