Grazing Operations Face a Changing Carbon Industry

Ranchers – or “farmers” to our Aussie and UK customers out there! – are noticing big changes in the global carbon industry this year. Offset developers are knocking on doors, and here in the US, at least 1.2M acres of private grazing land have been signed up for carbon offset projects, with another 1M acres in the pipeline.?

Producers aren’t just trying to make sense of it all; they’re trying to understand their own risk. Based on AgriWebb 's 2023 State of the Global Farmer Report, which surveyed hundreds of grazing operations worldwide, we found that roughly half of the producers surveyed said they’re taking a “wait and see” approach on carbon markets.?

So what do all these developments mean for the average cattle or sheep grazing operation??

Over the next four Wednesdays starting tomorrow, I’ll answer that question by diving into four topics every grazing operation should be aware of, whether they’re in Montana, Ireland, or Queensland Australia.?

Here’s what I’ll tackle in this 4-part series:?

• Part 1: The carbon tradeoff Did you know that producers can EITHER sell carbon offsets OR sell low-carbon beef, but not both?
• Part 2: Upheaval in the carbon offset market How are carbon offset markets changing because of issues with existing carbon offset methods??
• Part 3: Digital grazing records are essential You may know that software helps producers participate in carbon programs, but how, exactly?
• Part 4: The Science How much carbon can you realistically expect to sequester if you change grazing practices??

Plus, I’ll also cover these topics along the way: What should ranchers know about carbon insetting? Will corporate climate commitments impact grazing operations? What should producers do if all their grazing records are in a notebook or in text messages??

Looking forward to jumping in. Please add your questions and comments as we go along, and tag anyone you know interested in these topics!