Farmers, ranchers can sell carbon credits

By D.E. Smoot
Phoenix Staff Writer

August 31, 2008 10:46 pm

— A new conservation program encourages the use of environmentally friendly farming and ranching methods to curb greenhouse gas emissions, which many believe adversely impact global climate.
The Oklahoma Conservation Commission’s carbon sequestration certification program is designed to help landowners and companies take advantage of national and global carbon markets.
Those markets are designed to help cap carbon emissions by allowing entities wanting —or being required — to reduce pollution a way to offset greenhouse gas emissions by buying credits from property owners who use farming practices that help capture and sequester carbon in the soil.
The program initiated by the Oklahoma Conservation Commission quantifies and qualifies those credits available to farmers and ranchers who implement approved agricultural techniques. Andy Qualls, Muskogee County Conservation District equipment manager and technician, said the certification program is designed to ensure the credits sold equal the offsets purchased.
“There are no national standards to date, so this program will instill credibility to the carbon sequestration program,” Qualls said. “Once credits are certified — it’s not a matter of having to go out and find a buyer — there is a market already available.”
Stacy Hansen, director of OCC’s unique carbon program, said certifying carbon credits adds a “layer of assurance that buyers of carbon dioxide offsets are getting what they pay for and offset providers are selling a high quality product that did not harm water, soil or air quality.”
OCC spokesman Mark Harrison said the state is neither buying nor selling carbon offsets. The agency is only certifying the value of the credit based upon the soil conditions of the property enrolled in the program.
The Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, Harrison said, will gather and bundle certified carbon credits, which will then be sold on the open markets. According to OCC documents, the demand for carbon offsets has driven the cost up to about $7 per metric ton, nearly twice what they were selling for a year ago.
Qualls said the carbon program, the first of its kind in the nation, could prove beneficial for area farmers and ranchers eligible to participate in the program.
“Planting trees and native grass is one of the most efficient ways to capture and sequester carbon in the soil,” Qualls said. “No-till cultivation practices help keep that carbon in the soil for longer periods of time.”
On Thursday, OACD President Scotty Herriman said his organization’s sequestration program coupled with the OCC’s certification program are examples of how the organizations can help landowners address natural resource concerns through voluntary means.
Herriman’s remarks were made during an event in western Oklahoma announcing its partnership with OCC’s certification program and Western Farmers Electric Cooperative.
OCC’s Harrison said the electric cooperative has a goal to buy carbon offsets totaling nearly 10,000 metric tons to help reduce its carbon footprint. Electrical utilities account for a sizable amount of carbon dioxide emissions.
Landowners interested in participating either program are encouraged to contact representatives from local conservation district offices.

How carbon enters the soil

On agricultural lands, carbon can enter the soil through roots, plant debris, harvest residue and animal manure. The carbon may be stored as organic matter. Soils hold carbon underground in the root structure of plants and near the soil surface and in plant biomass above the ground.
SOURCE: Oklahoma Conservation Commission

How trees, plants sequester carbon

• Terrestrial ecosystems remove atmospheric carbon dioxide by plant photosynthesis during the day, which results in plant growth. Plants release some carbon back into the atmosphere at night through respiration. When a plant sheds leaves or its roots die, the organic material decays and remains as carbon-rich matter in the soil.
• The carbon can remain in the soil for thousands of years, unless it is disturbed by modern agricultural practices that rely on regular tilling of the surface. Otherwise, the carbon is released slowly into the atmosphere.
• Overall, land ecosystems take in more carbon dioxide than that which is released naturally, making plants and trees ideal carbon sinks.
SOURCE: Oklahoma Conservation Commission

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