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Carbon Credit Program could mean more money for Montana farmers |
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Wednesday, 06 August 2008 |
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This is where the Carbon Credit Program comes into play. The CCX has aggregated the National Farmers Union to enroll range and farm acreage into the program. Payments are given annually to farmers and ranchers to practice no till techniques into their livelihood. If farmers and ranchers do not till up their ground, the carbon stays trapped in the ground offsetting some of the natural emissions that we have been releasing, either through automobiles or large-scale industrialization.
The CCX is not a government program, it treats the carbon credits just like any other agricultural commodity, to be bought and sold on the open market.
Big business or individuals buy these credits as a public relations campaign to either offset their own emissions or because they are generally worried about our environmental concerns.
While much of the public believes that big businesses buy these credits so they can pollute more, this is just not the case. Big businesses are not allowed to increase their emissions just because they buy these credits.
The program is very new and even though the prices can fluctuate from year-to-year just like any other commodity, it seems to be a nice steady chunk of money for rural landowners.
Jim Sargent, Montana Farmers Union Membership Director, explains it like this: “Let’s look at your farm or ranch like a cake. If grain or cattle is the actual cake, then look at this program as the icing, while it may not be a lot of money, it is a substantial amount.”
The upcoming deadline for enrollment for the new round is Aug. 1 for rotational grazing offsets and Aug. 15 no-till/seeded grass offsets.
More information can be found by contacting the Montana Farmers Union at 800-234-4071.
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