Sequestration in the Field

by Katie Schroeder (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Carbon intensity scores determine, in part, the value producers get for each gallon of ethanol they produce. Today’s CI calculations don’t factor in low-carbon farming practices, but industry leaders like Brian Jennings are determined to change that.

Carbon reduction has been the buzzword for the U.S. ethanol industry over the last few years, particularly since mid-2022 with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. However, one of the major components of corn-based ethanol’s carbon intensity score occurs—with unacknowledged but important variability—before an ethanol plant ever receives its feedstock, while the corn is being grown. Farming is a frequently overlooked element of the carbon reduction conversation in the ethanol space, while carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is receiving an extraordinary amount of ethanol producer attention and investment, largely due to enhanced tax credits for CCS and the possibility of CO₂ aggregation pipelines.

However, the potential impact of “climate-smart” farming practices is certainly not lost on industry leaders like Brian Jennings, CEO of the American Coalition for Ethanol. “The production of corn is responsible for about half of ethanol’s carbon footprint, and the other half of ethanol’s carbon footprint can be attributed to manufacturing of the ethanol and then the use of the ethanol,” Jennings says. “A big chunk of the ethanol carbon footprint is what happens on the corn farm or what happens in the corn field.”

ACE Climate-Smart Farming Project
ACE received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to partner with South Dakota State University, the South Dakota Corn Growers Association, the U.S. Department of Energy Sandia National Laboratory, and Dakota Ethanol LLC, a 100 MMgy ethanol plant in Wentworth, South Dakota, to compensate farmers in the surrounding seven counties for using regenerative or climate smart practices such as cover cropping, reduced or no tillage, and nutrient management.

The goal of the project is to get more farmers involved in these practices and gain data on how these practices impact soil health and carbon intensity.

Although the transition to low- or no-till farming is expensive, there are currently no credits provided to farmers who implement these practices. “Farmers and bioethanol producers are penalized by policies that make certain assumptions about what happens on the farm,” Jennings says. “For example, the nitrous oxide emissions are counted as part of ethanol’s carbon footprint, land use change is counted as part of ethanol’s carbon footprint, but ... policy does not yet give credit to farmers or ethanol producers for these regenerative or climate-smart practices.”

Jennings explains that the ACE team has been vocal with lawmakers about the difficulties of transitioning to low-carbon farming. Legislation is in motion nationally and at the state level that would give farmers credits for implementing these practices. “In order to get the change that [policymakers] want to see in terms of [their] sustainability or carbon reduction goals, there are going to have to be incentives in place for farmers to adopt these,” Jennings says.

Midwestern states may be more aware of the need for these credits and ready to assist farmers he explains. In early March, the Clean Transportation Standard was introduced to Minnesota State legislators. While the bill had not yet passed at press time, it contains language that would give credits to farmers and ethanol producers for climate-smart practices. ACE has assisted with a similar potential bill in Nebraska, which has currently been postponed until 2024.

On the federal level, there was a hearing in mid-February to explore the concept of a national low-carbon fuel standard in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. ACE submitted testimony that climate-smart practices need to be a part of any future low-carbon fuel standard, Jennings says. He also sees the Farm Bill, which needs to be reauthorized by Congress in 2023, as an opportunity to “encourage a new policy that would reward farmers and ethanol producers.”

With the implementation of more low-carbon fuel standards, the market for ethanol would grow, as higher ethanol blends are a quick way to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuel. If some of these policies pass and are implemented, it could mean millions of dollars for ethanol producers, Jennings explains. Farmers would also benefit, gaining credits around $200 an acre if they implemented all of these regenerative practices, according to an analysis done by Jennings and his team based on LCFS credits over the past three years.

These credits, if implemented, would be key to accelerating the widespread adoption of climate-smart farming, which would help solidify ethanol’s place in low carbon markets. “How do we move to the future? Whether or not we believe in global warming doesn’t really matter because the people buying our products do,” Clay says. “And we need to provide the products that they want and are insisting.” READ MORE