Over half of the land resources in America belong to farmers and ranchers. Dawson Power believes they can be involved in the development of climate change solutions. While most of us have focused on renewable energy or improved energy efficiency as a way to reduce CO2, there are many other options that can affect our agriculture community.
To stay in business, farmers and ranchers need to make a profit…but they also want to be good stewards of their farmland. In our view, the local farmers/ranchers do a very good job at watching/upholding proper land use practices. But, if farmers are compensated for the environmental benefits they produce, such as cleaner water and (natural) carbon sequestration, they're more encouraged to get involved in climate change solutions.
SO…how can farmers/ranchers make money using carbon sequestration? The technology to do injected carbon sequestration has not even been developed but a natural version is an option. Farmers and ranchers can look at being paid for carbon reduction by looking into Chicago Climate Exchange’s offset program. CCX has many project options including methane, agricultural soil carbon, rangeland carbon soil management, and energy efficiency and fuel switching as means to pay farmers for carbon offsets.
CCX general rules/questions for carbon offsets can be found by clicking on this link. Specifics including Agricultural Potential (Question 3), How to Enroll (Question 8) and Current Market Value (Question 24) can be researched thoroughly at http://www.chicagoclimateexchange.com/. Don’t be discouraged by the complexity of a carbon offset program. The CCX is a viable organization and members can have their questions answered quickly by checking the website.
Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
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