Eastern IA Farmer_Fall23_SOUTH

Ag Bytes
What makes a quality
carbon credit?
Alejandro Plastina, ISU extension
economist and associate professor,
answers four questions that are key for
buyers when determining the quality
(and the price they are willing to pay)
for carbon credits. Additional practices,
permanence, verified protocols, and
registered credits are all factors that play
into the perceived quality of a carbon
credit.
Buyers often look for high-quality credits
that are based on additional practices,
ensure some amount of permanence, are
verified, and registered, Plastina said.
A carbon credit is a term for the
certificate or token
showing that
one metric ton of
carbon dioxide
(or the equivalent
amount of other
greenhouse
gases) have
been reduced or
sequestered, he
said. But not all
carbon credits are
the same, nor do
they hold the same
value for buyers.
There are a few
Alejandro Plastina, key terms that
ISU Extension
speak to what buyers
of carbon
economist and
associate professor credits are looking
for:
Are the credits from additional
practices? Buyers are seeking
credits created because a producer
is participating in a carbon program.
The carbon sequestered should
be additional when compared to the
carbon sequestered during “business as
usual” on the same land – the practice
changes would not have happened without
the carbon credit incentive.
Are the credits permanent? For
agricultural carbon credits, there’s
always concern that the practices that
sequestered soil carbon in the first place
can be quickly overturned. Carbon could
be released back into the atmosphere
from plowing soil that was in no-till
production or cutting down stands of
trees. Most carbon programs will specify
in their contracts how long producers or
land managers are obligated to maintain
specific conservation practices to prevent
carbon from being released back into the
atmosphere.
Does the carbon program use
verified protocols? Verification is the
process through which the reported
measurements from a carbon program
are evaluated to make sure they are
accurate and use the specified protocols.
Some carbon programs conduct their
own verification, which is often viewed as
less rigorous compared to working with a
third-party verifier. Buyers often perceive
carbon credits to be of higher quality when
issued by a program that uses third-party
verification.
Are the credits registered? Carbon
registries serve as the record-keepers for
carbon markets. A registry issues a specific
serial number for a specific carbon
credit, and retires that serial number when
the credit is sold to a buyer. A few of the
primary registries worldwide include Gold
Standard, Verra, American Carbon Registry,
and Climate Action Reserve.
For more information about the structure
of carbon programs, viewi Plastina’s
resources from Ag Decision Maker, “How
Do Data and Payments Flow Through Ag
Carbon Programs?” and “How to Grow
and Sell Carbon in US Agriculture.”
Hotline offers help for stress,
legal questions and more
The Iowa Concern Hotline number is
800-447-1985. Iowa Concern is a program
of the Iowa State University Extension
service. The program began in 1985 as
a toll-free number serving the agriculture
community.
Today, the toll-free number serves urban
as well as rural Iowa. By calling Iowa
Concern has one access to an attorney for
legal education, stress counselors, and information
and referral services for a wide
variety of topics.
In addition, Iowa Concern maintains a
website, extension.iastate.edu/iowaconcern,
featuring an extensive frequently
asked questions database for legal, finance,
crisis and disaster, and personal
health issue.
The website is also the link to Iowa Concern’s
“Click here to chat with an Agent”
service.
Live chat immediately connects you with
a stress counselor where you can “talk”
(type) one-on-one in a secure environment.
All Iowa Concern services are available
24 hours a day, seven days a week at no
charge.
Use safety checklist when
handling grain equipment
Hazards abound when handling grain,
such as equipment entanglement, grain
entrapment and engulfment and dust
explosions, among others.
To lower your risk of injury:
n Check that all exposed moving
machinery parts have guards, shields or
cages installed and are in good condition
to prevent entanglement, including auger
flighting, conveyers, belts and powertake-off
(PTO) components.
n Don’t wear loose or baggy clothing,
tie back hair and remove dangling drawstrings
and jewelry that could get pulled
into moving parts.
n Lock-out the power to augers, conveyers,
belts and PTO components before
performing maintenance or replacing
parts so they can’t be accidentally turned
on.
n Stay clear of flowing grain, which can
trap a person knee-deep in a few seconds
and can completely submerge them
in less than 20 seconds.
n Work from outside of the bin whenever
possible and use the buddy system
and safe bin entry procedures when a bin
must be entered.
n Check that everyone knows how to
de-energize grain loading and unloading
equipment and lock-out the power sources
so that grain moving equipment can’t
be turned on while someone is inside of
a bin.
n Use hazard signage and teach kids
and unexperienced people to stay out
of stored grain, including bins, piles and
grain transport vehicles.
n Keep the grain vacuum nozzle away
from the area below your feet and keep
an eye on the angle of the grain surface
as you are removing grain. To prevent
grain flow, the grain angle should be less
than the grain’s angle of repose, which
is around 21 degrees for corn and 23
degrees for soybeans.
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