
Agricultural Carbon Offset Market Development: Barriers & Opportunities from the Farmer Perspective
In partnership with Carbon Yield, a company that promotes the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices, this project studies the role of agricultural carbon credit markets as a driver for farm revenue and climate change mitigation. The project specifically aims to understand the barriers to farmer participation in agricultural carbon credit markets, quantify the carbon price that would best incentivize farmer participation, and develop practical recommendations for improving the opportunity for farmers, thereby increasing participation levels and reducing greenhouse gasses (GHGs) in the atmosphere. In conclusion, we note that the carbon credit opportunity may differ significantly for certain types of growers, such as highly diversified or perennial farming operations, or for farmers in different regions with unique circumstances. Our project is based on the experiences of commodity row crop producers and will be transferable to farmers with similar practices. Nonetheless, we encourage readers to consider our recommendations critically and to conduct further research when forming opinions and making decisions about carbon credit markets.
Sam Schiller, Erin Heitkamp, Aldyen Donnelly