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Carbon credits: Managing the new “crop” in town

Ag experts are looking at carbon as a new “double crop” for farmers during Commodity Classic.

Demand for carbon credits continues to grow as more Fortune 500 companies make carbon reduction pledges. But, farmers were sequestering carbon long before the hype of carbon markets, and Jim Hedges with Winfield United says that creates a unique opportunity.

“So many times, agriculture is looked at as the bad guy. We have the opportunity in agriculture to define what this space looks like.”

But along with the opportunities comes a lot of risk, and he says that is where farmers need to do their homework.

“Being able to farm profitably and then bring a revenue stream like carbon in, that should be the ultimate goal. To do that, I think you need to understand the science and data driving the recommendations both on the productivity side growing the crop, as well as harvesting carbon and reducing greenhouse gas.”

He says there are many unanswered questions as the rulebooks are still being written and a lot left to learn so it is important for farmers to have a trusted advisor for carbon markets.