Carbon Credit Questions Linger for Ag Retailers
February 16, 2022 For the past year or so now, plenty of people within the agricultural community have consistently talked about carbon credits and what these will/could mean for the entire industry. In particular, ag retailers have wondered, both aloud and probably to themselves, what role they can/will play in this effort. However, thus far, there are few concrete answers.
Daren Coppock
This was evident at a recent industry event, the 2022 Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association (IFCA) Annual Meeting, which took place January 18-20 in Peoria, IL. At this event, IFCA President Kevin “K.J.” Johnson had managed to assemble three key trade association leaders – CropLife America’s Chris Novak, The Fertilizer Institute’s Corey Rosenbusch, and the Agricultural Retailers Association’s Daren Coppock – to talk about various industry trends and concerns. Yet, it was a question from the audience regarding carbon credits and the role ag retailers might play in them that really got the conversation moving.
“That’s a question we’ve been asking for a while now,” said Coppock, trying to answer the question asked. “The short answer is there are plenty of ways to measure carbon credits in the marketplace right now.”
Coppock went on to recommend that ag retailers consider two key points when it comes to carbon credits: Figuring out what methods might be effective for their grower-customers to use and how all the parties involved in this effort get paid for their trouble.
Chris Novak
“Beyond that, there may be some ways for ag retailers to serve as aggregators, so they are pulling up data and actually handling the credits for their customers,” he continued. “That might create a reporting opportunity to communicate with downstream companies on how growers are capturing carbon in their fields.”
Speaking for his supplier members, CropLife America’s Novak reminded the IFCA audience that his industry is already making significant inroads into this area. “Both Bayer and Corteva already have carbon credit programs in place,” he said. “Our members are investing in this and definitely moving that way going forward.”
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