Agricultural Carbon Market Working Group

ABOUT US

The Agricultural Carbon Market Working Group is unique for our industry in that it is comprised of national farm leaders from all three major commodities, the biofuels industry, and other key agricultural stakeholders. Together we have spent four years studying and addressing potential carbon offset markets for agriculture that could result from national policy. We have also worked with our agricultural organizations to begin addressing issues related to climate markets for agriculture.

The Agricultural Carbon Market Working Group works cooperatively with other entities interested in seeing carbon markets for agriculture, such as nine land grant universities, Consortium for Agricultural Soil Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases (CASMGS) and the Dole Daschle 21st Century Farm Policy Initiative.

The Agricultural Carbon Market Working Group has identified a series of key policy principles that we believe form the basis for informed discussion of agricultural carbon markets, or greenhouse gas (GHG) markets.

Here are a few policy proposals our group has agreed should form the basis for discussion:

	We support engaging in climate policy legislation to protect agriculture's opportunity to participate in new revenue streams that derive from carbon offset markets related to conservation practices and renewable fuels;
	There should be no limits on the agricultural sector as an eligible carbon offset provider;
	Agricultural producers should be allowed to market the value of management practices and renewable fuel related GHG offsets that result in demonstrable improvements to global climate through both emission reductions and additional carbon sequestered terrestrially;
	We support U.S. agriculture's participation in an international carbon market so long as countries that have agreed to set limits on emissions are treated under non-discriminatory protocols;
	The agricultural community supports funding from the Department of Energy that gives consideration to both terrestrial sequestration as well as geologic alternatives at least up to the funding levels in Phase II levels (75% Geologic & 25% Terrestrial);
	Carbon credits prices should be established in a transparent marketplace, free from artificial limits;
	While individual states may choose to develop trading rules and protocols for agriculture-related carbon offsets, we support development of national standard similar to other commodities that provide consistency and standardization for trading throughout agriculture in the US;
	The USDA should play a leading role in providing measurement, education, and research support to agriculture entities interested in defining the value of management activities and marketing projects that store carbon and/or reduce emissions;
	The USDA should be integrally involved in the establishment of standardized trading protocols.

It is our hope that we can be a resource for key policymakers who are interested in the role agriculture can play to mitigate greenhouse gases and develop new value-added carbon markets for agriculture. Together we can work to create the kind of policies that are good for agriculture and rural America.

Agricultural Carbon Market Working Group Steering Committee

The Ag Carbon Markets Working Group (ACMWG) was developed through a process of collaboration between NGOs, concerned farmers and industry experts.

Coordinator:
Laura Sands, The Clark Group LLC.
503 2nd St. NE
Washington, D.C. 20002
aginfo@clarkgroupllc.com

Fred Yoder, Ohio
Former President of the National Corn Growers Association and also a member of the Farm Bureau.

John Long, South Carolina
Past President of the American Soybean Association, CEO and Chairman of
East Coast Ethanol, LLC and Member of Palmetto Agribusiness Council.

Dale Gardner, Virginia
Executive Secretary of the Virginia State Dairymen's Association and serves on the Virginia Agribusiness Council.

Stanley Johnson, Iowa/Nevada
Former Vice Provost for Extension at Iowa State University, a founder of FAPRI and currently working for the World Bank and the United Nations.

Bill Horan, Iowa
Steering committee member of 25 x 25 and NCGA's Taking Ownership of Grain Belt Agriculture and a leader in numerous biodiesel, ethanol and other renewable energy initiatives.

Christine Hamilton, South Dakota
President and CEO of Christiansen Land and Cattle, and board member of Powering the Plains and the SDSU Foundation.

Kristin Duncanson, Minnesota
Farmer and former member of the board of the American Soybean Association.

Donnie Young, Kansas
Diversified operation owner and former President of the Kansas Corn Growers Association.

Bruce Wright, Montana
Member of the Montana Grain Growers and the Farm Bureau.

Wallie Hardie, North Dakota
Former President of the National Corn Growers Association, and a member of the Midwest Ag Energy Network.

Dick Wittman, Idaho
Farmer, rancher and timber holder and former President of the Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association.

Paul Kenney, Nebraska
Farmer and President of the Kearney Area Agricultural Producers Association (KAAPA).

Mark Schwiebert, Ohio
Corn and soybean producer, former Chairman of the NCGA Task Force.

Justin Knopf, Kansas
Diversified producer and a member of the National Association of Wheat Growers and the Farm Bureau.

Chuck Rice, Director, CASMGS, Kansas
CASMGS is a nine-state university consortium dedicated to carbon sequestration and other technologies as a potential solution to climate change.

Carl Mattson, Montana
Farmer and Conservation and Farm Program Associate. Montana Grain Growers Association.

Lance Woodbury, Kansas
Partner, Kennedy & Co, a leading advisory firm for agricultural producers and agribusiness in Garden City, Ks.