Carbon credit deadline is Aug. 15

Thursday, August 7, 2008 8:49 PM MDT

GREAT FALLS, Mont. n Enrollment in the Montana Farmers Union carbon credit program is ongoing, but the next pool deadline is Aug. 15 for no-till and seeded grass offsets.

This fall 2008 pool is the last chance to be included in the 2007 bonus year. Montana Farmers Union’s Membership director Jim Sargent urges all interested farmers to investigate this voluntary program.

“The farmers and ranchers who enroll in this program are implementing management practices that put carbon into the soil and take it out of the atmosphere,” he said. “In return, they are paid for their practices, and that means more money to invest in their operations or spend in their communities.”

Recently, 107 Montana farmers and ranchers received checks totaling more than $551,000 as compensation for capturing and storing carbon dioxide in their soil. The sequestered tons were registered and sold by Farmers Union on the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). Nationwide, the 2006-2007 pool of enrollments sequestered carbon dioxide from 2.8 million acres. This amount is the equivalent offset for the annual emission of 320,000 automobiles.

In addition to no-till and seeded grass offsets, credits can also be earned through prescribed grazing on native rangeland, tree-planting projects, and methane capture systems.

For more information, log onto the MFU Web site and follow the carbon credit link at www.montanafarmersunion.com. Montana Farm Bureau Federation and the Montana Grain Growers Association also have similar programs.

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