b'S T R A T E G Y A featured segment designed to help you in the realm of retail seed sales. The Wild West of Carbon CreditsMining for truth to determine if these programs are really worth it.Melissa ShipmanIN THE COMPLEXandmaterials such as waste and rapidly developing volun- fertilizers. Levels depend on tary carbon market, produc- many factors including tem-ers wonder if these programsperature, acidity, biochemical are really worth the effort.oxygen demand, and nitrogen The answers to that questionconcentration.range wildly, and the worldThe U.S. Environmental of carbon trading has beenProtection Agency (EPA) likened to the Wild West.determined agriculture was However, its still unclearresponsible for 9.6% of U.S. if things will end up as a goldgreenhouse gas emissions rush or a ghost town. in 2019, and the number one It takes a pioneering spiritfactor was agricultural soil to enter at this point, saysRebekah Carlson serves asLuis Ribera is a professor andmanagement at 345 million Rebekah Carlson, the agricul- agriculture supply lead at Nori.Extension economist at Texasmetric tons of COequiva-2ture supply lead at Nori, a vol- A&M University. lents, which incorporates all untary marketplace for carbonthe other greenhouse gases removal. But, there is a lot tofactored into one measure-be gained by enrolling now andThe concept of cap andber that COis not the onlyment.2helping shape the experiencetrade set a hard cap on emis- greenhouse gas responsible and being on the forefront. sions, so polluters could buyfor global warming. In fact, itCarbon Sequestering carbon removal offsets fromonly represents around 80%A carbon sink, specifically, is Back to the Beginning someone who could reduceof total greenhouse gases.a reduction in atmospheric A carbon offset, or credit, isemissions cheaper, he says. Nitrous oxide representsgreenhouse gasses by storing equal to one ton of gas, andAt that time, the marketaround 7% of these problem- that carbon in another form.can be sold via a certificate orwas the Chicago Climateatic gases. Methane is anotherNori has started with permit representing the rightExchange and participa- offender, and not all are cre- regenerative agriculture to emit one ton of COequiv- tion was voluntary, eitherated equal. projects that store carbon in 2alent, which also includesby reducing a companysEven though nitrous oxidethe soil. Their marketplace is other greenhouse gases. own carbon emissions, or byis much lower than carbonbased on blockchain technol-Luis Ribera, professor andbuying offsets.dioxide at just 7%, it is 300ogy and is designed to con-Extension economist in theNow, the Biden administra- times more powerful than CO nect carbon removal suppliers 2Department of Agriculturaltion has focused on a carbonat trapping heat, Ribera says.directly with buyers. It is also Economics at Texas A&Mbank system, as well as cli- This is important to pointbased on extensive data col-University, says carbon creditsmate smart practices.out because we can see howlection.have come a long way fromThey are calling thisagriculture plays a major roleWe use a process-based their early days, when cap andregenerative agriculture, butin terms of greenhouse gases. modeling that takes agro-trade was first introduced inno one really knows what thatAgricultural soil manage- nomic, soil and weather 2009 as part of the Americanis yet, Ribera says.ment is the greatest source forinformation into account, to Clean Energy and Securitynitrous oxide, which is emittedunderstand the fluctuation of Act introduced by HenryGreenhouse Gases from wastewater that con- carbon in soil over the course Waxman.Its also important to remem- tains nitrogen-based organicof time, she explains, men-34/ SEEDWORLD.COMOCTOBER 2021'