CDFA considers a carbon farming market
CDFA measures the success of its Healthy Soils incentives program in part by how much carbon is sequestered in the soil. Now the department is considering a proposal to monetize that benefit through a carbon offset market, supplementing the incomes of those farmers.
A coalition of businesses and organizations has already secured an agricultural carbon removal provision in the 2018 Farm Bill, with demonstration projects kicking off last year.
It works through a USDA tool that calculates the amount of carbon dioxide saved through climate-smart practices. Farmers would verify the practices through a startup like Nori that hosts a carbon trading market. Each year, a farmer could gain as much as $80 per acre.
The catch is CDFA would fund the program as a public-private partnership, which would take away from incentives funding for Healthy Soils.
“It’s likely the private market will complement, if not overshadow, government support once the tap is turned on,” said Nicole Lederer of the green business advocacy group Environmental Entrepreneurs.