Vilsack: US Carbon Market Needs a Focus on Farmers

March 23, 2021

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by Bill Tomson (Agri-Pulse) A priority for the USDA in the coming years will be judging the feasibility of setting up, executing and paying for a federal carbon bank to help farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reward them for their actions, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday.

It won’t be easy or quick, and there’s a lot of work that needs to be done just to figure out the best way to make that happen, but a carbon bank that both reduces GHG emissions and adds support to America’s farmers and ranchers will be key to the Biden administration’s pledge to open new markets for farmers, Vilsack said at Agri-Pulse’s annual Ag & Food Policy Summit.

“When we talk about new markets … there is an opportunity with reference to climate to create new ways for farmers to benefit financially,” said Vilsack, who also stressed that USDA will be looking at other tools than just a new carbon bank system. “We have a good path forward as we look and explore that opportunity … It’s a way of basically providing financial assistance to farmers so that they incorporate into their operations climate-smart agricultural practices, which will not only provide farm income, but it will preserve soil, provide healthier soil and it will be an opportunity to improve the quality of water.”

Currently, there is no federal carbon bank, Vilsack said the existing carbon trading systems are not designed to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers. That’s why USDA is starting at the ground floor and hoping to gather as many ideas and guidance as it can from the public sector.

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And to do that, he says he wants to hear from farmers and ranchers. Just last week the USDA published a notice in the Federal Register, seeking input from the public on what the department should do to encourage practices with “measurable and verifiable carbon reductions and sequestration and that source sustainable bioproducts and fuels.”

Vilsack said a carbon bank is likely the answer, but many questions remain.

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And then there is the matter of how to finance it without taking funds away from existing programs. The Commodity Credit Corporation, Vilsack said, would be an ideal tool to fund a carbon trading system.

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However, the idea of funding a carbon bank through the CCC is currently running into some GOP opposition on Capitol Hill. The top Republican on the House Ag Committee - Pennsylvania's Glenn Thompson - said he doesn't believe USDA would have authority to use that funding source, and "Secretary Vilsack should know better." READ MORE

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