Carbon Credits

I’m curious if anyone here is or has been involved in selling carbon credits. Is it even possible for a small scale farmer to become involved? If so, what country are you sequestering in? What practices do you use that count toward a credit which can be sold? I’m interested in hearing anyone’s real world experience with it. Any info I have seen online involves projects encompassing thousands of acres.

Rob, I wish I were.  I've got 20 acres of timber in Oregon that I'd like to enter into such a program but I can't without 160 acres.  And that 160 acres has to be of a certain quality as well.  The problem seems to be the cost of administration, verification, etc is too high on small parcels.  So the cost of a carbon credit needs to be higher.

It would be nice to think about getting credit for increasing organic matter in my pastures as well, but I'm not holding my breath for a program.

Thanks for the response Eliot! I am inheriting a 80 acre wood lot that has not been managed well. It’s currently regrowth ranging from 10- 60 years old, but never harvested with a long term plan. I would love to turn it into silvopasture/ alley crop and manage it in a way that I could sell carbon credits. I can see how administration for a lot of smaller parcels of land would be a problem, it seems that possibly a “carbon co-op” of land owners close together could help solve the issue.

I fear that silvopasture might not float their boat ....

As much as I wish they just had a program to measure carbon accumulation in the soil and tree mass, I'm pretty sure this isn't happening. These are programs aimed at existing modes of production and are full of interest groups that are trying to warp/influence these programs to their benefit and ensure they keep the existing conventional systems in place as much as possible.  Thus in order to qualify you have to be big, have trees that are ready to harvest and (it seems) be willing to essentially donate a lot of the value in the trees as well.  Thereafter the program pays you for additional carbon - and some logging/thinning can be done so long as you stay on the accumulation curve.

Of course, this is what's available to me.  Options in BC might be different, but it would take an extremely enlightened program to accept your plans.  Let us know if you find such a program!

oh right - coops.

I hear that any day now we'll have coops for this here [/sarcasm].  Its a possibility, but we're early.

Flip this thing around to understand ... this isn't a market driven by the sequestration of carbon, its carbon polluters who want to buy their way out of their hole.  So 160 acre units it is because otherwise its not worth their time - or something.  You can imagine.  They're just "Give me the credit, who cares what you're doing."

A coop that bundles together properties to make a 160 acre unit IS a possibility that I would consider.

The other thing is be prepared to show an inventory and a plan.

I looked into the possibility several years ago.

I might have made a whole $5 a year from it, and would have been required to let inspectors on the land to verify I was doing what I said I was doing.

I pay too much for fences to keep people out, $5 isn't enough to compensate for that kind of intrusion.

Maybe if you have a huge tract of forest that you're not using, it might be worth it. But for most small farmers I don't think it's worth the bother.

I live in Tennessee, USA, my friend sent me this contract for selling carbon credits on as little as 40 acres. I think different companies have different criteria. She is going to a field day on that later this month. I have to work for her so she can go but she promised to bring back information on it. I will keep you updated on what we find out. In the meantime check out this company, I think she said they were located in Georgia. They pay $50 per acre per year and a sign up bonus. For me that enough to pay my taxes and insurance (which is high)   so for me this looks worthwhile, but I have some research to do first

Good morning Sarah,  
This is the website for the carbon people Dr Mercker, (the " tree professor😉 " from UT Knoxville) recommended https://nativstate.com/