Carbon credit workshop set for April 21 in Conrad

Tuesday, April 15, 2008 12:37 PM MDT

CONRAD, Mont. - Join the Montana Farm Bureau for a free carbon credit workshop at 7 p.m. on April 21 at the Conrad Community Center.

Scott Kulbeck of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) will talk about carbon sequestration and how it can be a new revenue opportunity for farmers, ranchers and private forest owners.

The prevention and reduction of carbon emissions through carbon sequestration has been a much publicized topic, but what most Montanans don’t know is that agriculture can benefit by playing a major role.

Research shows that a no-till or strip-till planted crop stores a potential yearly average of 0.32 tons per acre more carbon dioxide (in North-Central and Eastern Montana) than land that has been traditionally tilled and establishing a new grass stand on previous cropped land sequesters an average of one additional ton of carbon dioxide per acre. The carbon stored in the soil creates an offset, or credit, that can be sold on the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), benefiting ag producers who participate in the program.

Montana Farm Bureau has partnered with AgraGate Climate Credits Corporation, a subsidiary of the Iowa Farm Bureau, to provide carbon credit services to farmers and ranchers in Montana. AgraGate collects credits from individual farmers, ranchers, and landowners, and sells them on the CCX, returning the proceeds to the participating producers.

AgraGate is offering a new, five-year contract that includes a bonus option for a sixth year on qualified land.

“The new contract includes an option for an additional year of credit for cropland that was no-tilled or strip-tilled in 2007,” Kulbeck says. “If the tillage practices qualify and can be verified, the operator could sign up for six years of credits. The deadline for submitting contracts to AgraGate in order to take advantage of the bonus year is June 30 so now is the time to begin the application process.”

The workshop is open to the public. For more information contact Kulbeck at 406-587-3153 or scottk@mfbf.org.

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