You’ve probably heard a lot about how global warming is going to cost you a lot of money –higher taxes to pay for mitigation efforts, higher prices for energy like gas or heating oil, and so on. However, if you’re farming, global warming (or at least, the fight against it) might end up putting some money into your pocket. You may have heard of “carbon credits” – a mechanism for people or companies who want to reduce their environmental impact by paying others to do eco-friendly things. Many farmers nationwide are in a favorable position to take part in the carbon credit marketplace – providing carbon and methane sequestration and in return getting paid real money.

This particular program is run by the National Farmers Union, and over the last couple of years has paid out more than $8 million to participating farmers and ranchers. They offer programs for farmers who engage in no-till agriculture, who plant hay or alfalfa, who follow a list of environmental best practices for ranchland management, who put part of their land into a forest preserve, and who collect and “flame off” (burn) methane. The amount of the credits vary widely depending on the practice, the amount of land involved, and so on, but it basically amounts to getting paid for following environmentally sensible practices. No one farm is going to qualify for everything – obviously, you can’t have a hay field and a forest on the same acre – but a little planning can really pay off.

The program has open enrollment, but enrollment periods are periodically closed off to permit a group of enrollees to be checked out and verified. Most of the current program enrollment deadlines aren’t until next year, but the current no-till/grassland period closes on August 15, 2008.

Credit: Custom Illustration by IDEAVIZ