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By Jane Bardon
Friday, 18/07/2008
The Federal Government says agriculture won't have to pay for its pollution under an emissions trading scheme because its too hard to count the carbon from thousands of farms.Farmers will be able to trade carbon stored in trees, but not carbon stored in soils. But American and Canadian farmers are able to trade carbon they store in the soil through no till farming and keeping the ground covered through maintaining perennial pastures.Iowa Farm Bureau Federation research director David Miller says farmers sell their carbon to the Chicago Climate Exchange on a regional basis.The Bureau sells the carbon on behalf of its members in large blocks, where the carbon stored is conservatively averaged over many farms in a region. The farmers are legally bound to continue the farming practices which store the carbon for five years at a time."In Iowa our credit rate is six tenths of a tonne, per acre, per year. If I were to go to western Kansas, which is a different climate region, with different soils, their credit rate is two tenths of a tonne per acre."Individual farms get credit based on the regional level, assuming their farm has complied with the program, such as growing crops under no til conditions, or keeping the grass growing out there."The price on the Exchange changes, but we get about $2 an acre right now."David Miller says US farm groups like his own intend to join with Australian farmers in pushing to get the Kyoto Protocol rules changed to give them credit for storing carbon in soils.Farmers in both countries are worried if a new global deal on reducing greenhouse gas pollution is signed they will have to pay more for emitting carbon, than they'll get for storing it.He says US farmers are putting pressure on the US Government to lobby for soil carbon to be included."To get agriculture and forestry properly represented in the dynamics of how agriculture and forestry really fit into the overall greenhouse gas profiles and get credit for what we do. The fact that Kyoto doesn't do it is something that can be corrected in Kyoto 2."David Miller says with soil carbon counted, cropping farms are almost carbon neutral under emissions trading schemes, because inputs like fuel are counted in the fuel part of the schemes.But its much harder for the livestock sector, which produces massive emissions levels, to reduce or offset its greenhouse gases.He says, however, Iowa farmers are trialing plants which process the dung from cattle in a 20 mile radius into methane gas, which can be put into the local energy gas pipeline, and fertiliser and composts which are then used back on farms.David Miller will speak at the Australian Grain Industry Conference in Melbourne later this month.
In this report: David Miller, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation research director
Friday, 18/07/2008
The Federal Government says agriculture won't have to pay for its pollution under an emissions trading scheme because its too hard to count the carbon from thousands of farms.Farmers will be able to trade carbon stored in trees, but not carbon stored in soils. But American and Canadian farmers are able to trade carbon they store in the soil through no till farming and keeping the ground covered through maintaining perennial pastures.Iowa Farm Bureau Federation research director David Miller says farmers sell their carbon to the Chicago Climate Exchange on a regional basis.The Bureau sells the carbon on behalf of its members in large blocks, where the carbon stored is conservatively averaged over many farms in a region. The farmers are legally bound to continue the farming practices which store the carbon for five years at a time."In Iowa our credit rate is six tenths of a tonne, per acre, per year. If I were to go to western Kansas, which is a different climate region, with different soils, their credit rate is two tenths of a tonne per acre."Individual farms get credit based on the regional level, assuming their farm has complied with the program, such as growing crops under no til conditions, or keeping the grass growing out there."The price on the Exchange changes, but we get about $2 an acre right now."David Miller says US farm groups like his own intend to join with Australian farmers in pushing to get the Kyoto Protocol rules changed to give them credit for storing carbon in soils.Farmers in both countries are worried if a new global deal on reducing greenhouse gas pollution is signed they will have to pay more for emitting carbon, than they'll get for storing it.He says US farmers are putting pressure on the US Government to lobby for soil carbon to be included."To get agriculture and forestry properly represented in the dynamics of how agriculture and forestry really fit into the overall greenhouse gas profiles and get credit for what we do. The fact that Kyoto doesn't do it is something that can be corrected in Kyoto 2."David Miller says with soil carbon counted, cropping farms are almost carbon neutral under emissions trading schemes, because inputs like fuel are counted in the fuel part of the schemes.But its much harder for the livestock sector, which produces massive emissions levels, to reduce or offset its greenhouse gases.He says, however, Iowa farmers are trialing plants which process the dung from cattle in a 20 mile radius into methane gas, which can be put into the local energy gas pipeline, and fertiliser and composts which are then used back on farms.David Miller will speak at the Australian Grain Industry Conference in Melbourne later this month.
In this report: David Miller, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation research director
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