Carbon credits create a way for farmers falling into debt to keep their land

Carbon credits can provide cattle farmers with a new
source of income. (Photo by Bernd Dittrich, Unsplash)

Farmers facing drought, inflation or labor shortages often sell their generational land rather than go into debt, reports Yusuf Khan of The Wall Street Journal. In some states, cattle producers are filling financial gaps by using regenerative farming techniques that generate farm income through carbon credit payments. 

Frates Seeligson, who farms outside of Nixon in south Texas, told Khan he has seen cash-strapped ranchers sell their land to developers rather than go into the red.

“If you look at the business model of agriculture it’s somewhat broken,” Seeligson told Khan. “It’s capital and labor intensive with a very small return, and then you’re subject to the whims of nature." Texas has been facing drought conditions in many regions since 2021.

To combat ranchers' ongoing financial struggles, a carbon credit developer Grassroots Carbon is paying cattle farmers like Seeligson to use regenerative agriculture techniques aimed at trapping carbon in their soil, Khan explains. Backed by companies like Microsoft, Nestle and Chevron, Grassroots sells carbon credits for between $40 and $65 per ton, which have a lifetime of 100 years. 

One of the techniques Grassroots promotes is rotational grazing to keep livestock from overgrazing, Khan explains. “Rotational grazing is a common practice in farming, but Grassroots suggests ranchers rotate more often, sometimes daily and on smaller properties, multiple times a day.” For example, Seeligson now uses 28 temporary pastures, as opposed to his previous nine permanent ones.

The benefits aren’t limited to just storing carbon, though, according to Allen Williams, a researcher and rancher studying regenerative agriculture. Healthier grasses also make for healthier herds, growing herd pregnancy rates. Additionally, a “1% increase in soil organic matter can help soils to hold up to roughly 20,000 additional gallons of water per acre, an important factor in avoiding flooding,” a study from 2021 shows.