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A livestock producer would like to see carbon markets expanded

A livestock producer says he would like to see carbon markets benefit the cattle industry.

Nebraska Sandhills rancher Homer Buell tells Brownfield his ranch has been sequestering carbon through conservation practices for several decades. “I wonder how they can quantify that enough to get us into the carbon markets to get some carbon credits. I hope they look at that.”

He says carbon markets would provide an additional revue stream to help offset skyrocketing input costs. But, Buell says, one obstacle is how to quantify changes in grazing management. “I think that’s the biggest challenge. How do they recognize and then measure and somehow decide what kind of payback you can get from what you’ve done.”

And, he says, integrating data is another challenge for producers.