SOIL CARBON AND CLIMATE CHANGE
NEWS
From
Consortium for Agricultural
Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases
(CASMGS)
http://soilcarboncenter.k-state.edu
Charles W. Rice, K-State
Department of Agronomy, National CASMGS Director
(785) 532-7217 cwrice@ksu.edu
Scott Staggenborg, K-State Department
of Agronomy (785) 532-7214 sstaggen@ksu.edu
Steve Watson, CASMGS
Communications (785) 532-7105 swatson@oznet.ksu.edu
No. 41
* Carbon Credit Pilot Project
Meetings Scheduled In
* Public Forum On Benefits Of Soil Carbon Management
**********
CARBON
CREDIT PILOT PROJECT
MEETINGS
SCHEDULED IN
Producers and landowners in most of
The meetings are sponsored by the Kansas Coalition for
Carbon Management, an organization consisting of K-State Research and
Extension, Kansas Resource Conservation and Development Councils (RC&Ds), many
The pilot project is being offered by the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), a voluntary, multi-sector market for reducing and trading greenhouse gas emissions. The program is being administered by the Iowa Farm Bureau, serving as the “aggregator” -- an entity that acts as a middleman between the CCX and producers/landowners. An aggregator pools many separate parcels of qualified acreage into one large block for purposes of carbon credit trading on the CCX.
At the educational meetings, K-State Research and Extension personnel will explain the basic concepts of carbon sequestration. “We’ll explain what carbon sequestration is, why it’s important, and how it can help reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere while improving soil and water quality. We’ll also explain what practices producers can use to increase carbon sequestration in their soils,” said Chuck Rice, K-State professor of agronomy and national director of the Consortium for Agricultural Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases (CASMGS).
RC&D personnel will then explain the pilot program being
offered by CCX and administered by the Iowa Farm Bureau. In this program,
producers or landowners can make an application to contract with the Iowa Farm
Bureau to sell carbon credits for them on the CCX exchange. The acreage
eligible for this program includes conservation tillage (no-till, strip-till,
and ridge-till) and grass plantings made on or after
There are some requirements made of those who sign these
contracts, which will be explained by RC&D representatives at the meetings.
Payments for carbon credits are not established in the contract, said David
Miller, Iowa Farm Bureau director of commodity services. The payment will
depend on the price on the CCX board at the time the credits are sold by
Miller. Payments have been averaging anywhere from $0.50 to $1.00 per acre per
year, but this fluctuates. A maximum of about 150,000 acres can still be
contracted in this pilot project between now and April, 2005. More than 80,000
acres are already under contract in
2005 Schedule of
Meetings and RC&D Contact Number:
February 16,
February 16,
February 17,
February 17,
February 22,
February 22,
February 22,
February 22,
February 23,
February 23,
February 24,
February 28,
For more details, see:
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/kccm/Pilot%20project/Pilot_project_main.htm
-- Steve Watson swatson@oznet.ksu.edu
**********
PUBLIC FORUM ON BENEFITS
OF SOIL CARBON MANAGEMENT
One of the newest trends among agricultural and environmental interests is carbon management on agricultural land.
Find out what this is all about, and the many benefits
carbon management has to offer producers and the general public, at a public
forum to be held on Friday, Feb. 11 at
Speakers will explain carbon sequestration, and discuss its many benefits, economic advantages, and government programs and policies that can help promote it.
The principal goal of carbon sequestration is to help reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere. This is part of the general strategy of agricultural soil mitigation of greenhouse gases, a powerful environmental benefit now being recognized worldwide.
But managing soil carbon to reduce greenhouse gases has other agricultural and environmental benefits that are just as important. Management practices that increase soil carbon also:
* Improve soil fertility and productivity
* Help protect and improve water quality
* Reduce soil erosion
* Reduce water runoff and flooding potential
* Increase soil water holding capacity
The schedule for the forum is:
**********
UPCOMING CONFERENCES
Environmental and Ecological Benefits of Soil Carbon Management
For more information, contact:
Chuck Rice,
Carbon Credit Pilot Project meetings
12 locations in
For more information, see:
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/kccm/Pilot%20project/Pilot_project_main.htm
Carbon Market Insights 2005
For more information, see: http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=3838&categoryID=141
USDA Greenhouse Gas Symposium
For more information, contact Chuck Rice cwrice@ksu.edu
See:
http://soilcarboncenter.k-state.edu/conference
**********
Send comments or items for the
newsletter to Steve Watson at:
<swatson@oznet.ksu.edu>
NOTE: If you are forwarding this
newsletter to someone who would like to
subscribe on their own, here's how they can do so:
To subscribe:
Send a message to
<mailserv@lists.oznet.ksu.edu> Skip the Subject line
in the body of the message, type:
<subscribe carbon>
Then hit the return key twice.
If you would like to remove
your name from this list and no longer
receive this newsletter, here's how:
To unsubscribe:
Send a message to
<mailserv@lists.oznet.ksu.edu> Skip the Subject line
in the body of the message, type:
<unsubscribe carbon>
Then hit the return key twice.