Environment, farm reps like Braun's bill

Legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Mike Braun would benefit the environment and farmers, witnesses testified Wednesday at a Senate hearing.

Representatives of farm, food and environmental groups expressed their support for the bipartisan Growing Climate Solutions Act introduced by Braun, R-Ind., and three colleagues.

Under Braun's proposal, the Department of Agriculture would certify third-party providers of technical assistance to farmers, ranchers and foresters wishing to sell carbon credits in emissions trading markets. Farmers would generate credits by following land and water management practices that reduce climate-changing greenhouse gases. Credit buyers typically include carbon-emitting manufacturers and power companies.

The legislation “opens the door for farmer participation in a market-based system that rewards farmers for implementing conservation practices on their farms if they choose to do so,” Brent Bible, a Lafayette corn and soybean grower and adviser to the Environmental Defense Fund, testified before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, of which Braun is a member.

Braun's bill “seeks to provide more clarity and guidance for farmers and ranchers who want to provide the ecosystem services that more and more consumers and businesses are demanding,” Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said at the hearing, which the committee streamed live online.

Rob Larew, president of the National Farmers Union, said the legislation “will lend legitimacy to these voluntary carbon markets. With strong private-sector participation, carbon markets can create a sustainable revenue stream for farmers. ... This idea is not new; carbon markets work.”

Carbon credits have been selling for about $15 for each ton of sequestered carbon dioxide in the U.S. Emissions trading markets operate in California and nine states in the Northeast.

Braun's bill “anticipates a future class of commodities – in this case, environmental commodities: greenhouse gas credits,” said Jason Weller, vice president of Truterra, a conservation division of food seller Land O' Lakes.

“We're on a cusp of a revolution in precision conservation,” Weller said about advances in data analysis, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

The witnesses said conservation practices that might qualify farmers for carbon credits include no-till farming, the use of cover crops, crop rotation, improved nutrient management, the protection of wetlands and forests and the conversion of animal manure into energy.

Private-sector verifiers certified by the USDA would calculate emissions reduction and sequestration under Braun's legislation. His bill also would establish a USDA advisory council on the certification program.

Lafayette farmer Bible said the sale of carbon credits would help offset steep increases in production costs that have many farmers “treading water” financially.

“It gives us the opportunity to make a profit and do something environmentally healthy for our operations at the same time,” he said in answer to a question from Braun.

Co-sponsors of Braun's bill are Democratic Sens. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. More than 50 organizations and companies have endorsed the legislation.

bfrancisco@jg.net