Few Wisconsin Farmers Participating in Carbon Credit Markets

Tuesday, March 7th, 2023 -- 8:00 AM

(By Gaby Vinick, Wisconsin Public Radio) Even as momentum builds around carbon credit markets, few farmers in Wisconsin are participating, industry leaders say. 

According to Gaby Vinick with Wisconsin Public Radio, Will Fulwider is the regional crops educator with the University of Wisconsin-Extension in Dane and Dodge counties. He said there's a larger pool of people interested, but many farmers are unsure if this is the best time to sign up.

"People haven't jumped in, but they're all kind of like toeing the line and walking around," Fulwider said. "But there's a lot more buy-in than there was 20 years ago from the consumer, business side of things."

Fulwider said last winter, he was one of about 300 people to attend the Wisconsin Cover Crops Conference, but only one person raised their hand to say they were either selling or looking to participate in carbon credit markets. 

Nationally, agriculture is the source of roughly 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Through carbon credit offset programs, farmers can engage in practices like planting cover crops or reducing tillage to help store carbon in the soil.

Companies can buy that extra stored carbon to offset their pollution, or to be net-zero in their emissions. But without regulation or guidance, many farmers are left navigating what some say is a confusing patchwork of standards to measure carbon, sell credits and make money.

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