Carbon rates likely need to be higher

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Carbon rates likely need to be higher

A recent survey of ag retailers finds carbon market programs need to offer more incentives for farmers and retailers to participate.

Craig Dick with Axiom Marketing tells Brownfield about a third of participants in their survey are actively engaged in carbon credits.

“The majority of them are really wanting to figure out how to get involved in this, but the downside of that is that about 70 percent are really unsure how to go about doing that,” he explains.

Since ag retailers manage data for growers, Dick says current carbon rates of $10 to $15 per acre were found to be too low for them to be involved in the process.

“If they were going to do some work to collect data and help input data into the carbon market systems, the majority of retailers thought more than $5 per acre would be adequate for carbon credit services,” he says.

He says nearly 40 percent of respondents thought growers would participate in programs for at least $20 an acre.  Half of ag retailers were still unsure if they would participate.

The survey included more than 500 ag retailers across mostly the Midwest.

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