Carbon Trading Program

Some Florida farmers, ranchers and private forest owners may be able to capitalize on a new partnership between the state’s largest general agricultural organization and the nation’s leading supplier of carbon credit aggregation services to agriculture.

The Florida Farm Bureau Federation and AgraGate Climate Credits Corp. have agreed to partner in providing carbon credits services to farmers, ranchers and private forest owners. Those interested in learning more can attend meetings that will be held throughout the year and around the state.

Producers with continuously no-tilled fields and newly established grasslands, managed reforestation or new plantings on forested land, and on-farm methane digesters can earn credits based on the amount of carbon sequestered by their agricultural practices. Producers can then sell these carbon credits, also called offsets, to utilities, manufacturing companies and others who want to offset their carbon emissions.

As a contract facilitator, the Florida Farm Bureau will assist landowners in registering eligible properties and practices for carbon credits. AgraGate, a subsidiary of the Iowa Farm Bureau, collects credits from individual farmers and ranchers and combines the credits into sizable pools. The carbon credits are sold on the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), with the proceeds returned to the agricultural producers.

Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) is the world’s first and North America’s only active voluntary, legally binding integrated trading system to reduce emissions of all six greenhouse gases (GHGs), with Offset Projects worldwide. CCX employs independent verification and has been trading GHG emission reductions since 2003.

Members of the CCX make a voluntary but legally binding commitment to reduce GHG emissions.

For more information about this program, call 352-384-2661.
Email: carbontrading@ffbf.org

Frequently Asked Questions:

Soils-FAQs

Forestry-FAQs

Newsletters:

The Offset: July 2008

Links:
AgraGate
Chicago Climate Exchange
Carbon Credit Markets: A New Revenue Opportunity for Farmers and Land Owners (Powerpoint zip: 7mb)