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NEW SIGNUP PERIOD FOR
CARBON CREDIT PROGRAM
The Carbon Credit pilot project offered by
the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) has recently opened a new signup period. CCX
has given approval for aggregators to write contracts for no-till and seeded
grass beyond 2010, which was the formal end of the previous phase of the pilot
project.
The contract for the current signup period
is for the 5-year period of 2008-2012, with the option to cover 2007. Producers
who sign up their acreage into the program during the current signup period
must agree to maintain their land according to contract provisions for the
entire contract period in order to be eligible to receive payments. The
deadline for the current signup period is Sept. 15, 2008.
There are three types of programs for soil
carbon offset credits in
1. Conservation tillage
The enrollment criteria are included in
the map below.
A. Eastern Kansas counties are now
eligible for a carbon credit of 0.6 metric tons of CO2 per acre per
year for conservation tillage for the years 2008-2012.
B. In central
C. In western
General eligibility criteria and practices
for the region include but are not limited to the following:
* Enrolled acres may be planted in
soybeans no more 50 percent of the enrolled years;
* Continuous cotton and soybeans are
eligible only if there is a cover crop.
* Eligible implements include: no-till
drill, no-till and strip-till planters, rolling harrows, low disturbance liquid
manure injectors, anhydrous ammonia applicator, manure knife applicator, sub-soil
ripper with at least 24-inch shank spacing.
* Ineligible implements include: field
cultivators, tandem disk, offset disk, chisel plow, moldboard plow.
* In general if the implement would
require that a leveling or smoothing activity follow, it would likely result in
too much soil disturbance.
* Fallowed acres are not eligible in
this region.
* No Exchange Soil Offsets will be
issued in years in which residue removal occurs.
* Residue burning is not allowed.
CCX does not accept new contract enrollments
that utilize ridge-till. Also, CCX will not issue carbon credits on row
crop land that has the crop residue removed (silage, straw baling, straw burning,
corn stalk baling, etc.). This does not apply to alfalfa or grass hay, or
grass pasturing. Land on which the residue is removed will receive zero
"0" credit for the year in which the residue is removed.
2. New grass plantings
Land planted to grass on or after January
1, 1999 is eligible for carbon credits at the rate of 1.0 tons CO2 per acre per
year. The entire state of
http://www.chicagoclimateexchange.com/docs/offsets/Grassland_Conversion_Protocol.pdf
3. Rangeland
CCX has developed contracts
for agricultural carbon emission reductions for improved rangeland
management. Western and central
* Minimum 5 year contractual
commitment.
* Non-degraded rangeland
managed to increase carbon sequestration through grazing land management that
employs sustainable stocking rates, rotational grazing and seasonal use in
eligible locations.
* Restoration of previously
degraded rangeland through adoption of sustainable stocking rates, rotational
grazing and seasonal use grazing practices initiated on or after January 1,
1999.
* Projects must take place
within designated land resource regions.
* Offsets are issued at
standard rates depending on project type and location.
* Rates vary from 0.12 to
0.52 metric tons of CO2 per acre per year.
* All projects must be
independently verified by a CCX-approved verifier.
To provide evidence of
compliance in the rangeland program, the CCX will require site photographs, ranch stocking
records, and records from agricultural extension agencies. To obtain a copy of
the protocol for quantifying GHG reductions from managed rangeland, see:
http://www.chicagoclimateexchange.com/docs/offsets/Rangeland_Management_Protocol.pdf
There
are many details and stipulations involved in each of these programs, and
producers should review the contract closely. Producers can
sign a contract for the CCX program through either the Iowa Farm Bureau or
National Farmers Union.
In
the Iowa Farm Bureau’s program, producers can sign up for “Pool 6” from now
through September 15, 2008. Producers interested in the Pool 6 phase of this
carbon credit pilot project can find a complete description of the program and
a copy of the XSO (Exchange Soil Offset) sales contract at:
www.iowafarmbureau.com/special/carbon/default.aspx
For
more information, contact David Miller, Iowa Farm
Bureau Federation, 515-225-5430, or e-mail:
damiller@ifbf.org
The National Farmers Union is also
currently accepting new contracts for the expanded enrollment acres in the CCX
program. The NFU carbon credit program web site is undergoing revisions, but
should be up and running again soon, if it’s not already. The criteria of the
NFU carbon credit program are the same as those of the Iowa Farm Bureau’s.
Details of the program and a copy of the contract can be found at:
http://nfu.org/issues/environment/carbon-credits
For more information, contact
Prices
on the CCX for carbon credits are currently averaging about $2.00 per metric
ton of CO2 equivalent. The aggregators
(Iowa Farm Bureau and National Farmers Union) determine when the credits are
sold on the market, and take a small percentage of this for overhead.
The
CCX program also offers offset credits for methane and forestry plantings.
Complete details of the CCX offset programs and current prices can be found at:
http://www.chicagoclimateexchange.com/
-- Steve Watson, CASMGS Communications