32 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN March 2024 We build low-touch technology to optimize forage availability, improve biodiversity and maximize soil carbon. www.enriched.ag sales@enriched.ag 406-318-9631 Forage & grazing management Image-based analysis for ag Real-time ranch analytics as a commodity is an interesting take on a way to manage global carbon emissions and was the focus of the presentation by Dawn Caldwell during the breakout session. According to Caldwell, to incentivize the production of biofuels that are lower carbon emission fuels, the department of energy has created a carbon intensity (CI) system that assigns a score based on the amount of GHG emissions associated with creating a megajoule of energy (Figure 2). Each step of the process is taken into account to arrive at this CI score. “Nebraska’s ethanol plants have been participating in carbon intensity (CI) scoring for some time,” Caldwell said. “One of Nebraska’s largest ethanol markets is the state of California. California’s low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) achieves GHG reductions by requiring individual fuel producers and distributors to annually reduce the average lifecycle CI of the fuels they supply to the market. This concept is being implemented in more states and countries around the globe each year.” Caldwell emphasized that farmers and ranchers can benefit from this process by documenting practices they are already implementing or “things they are doing right” and possibly earn a new revenue stream via carbon credits or contracts. As renewable fuels become more widespread and in demand, the interest in farmers and ranchers whose productions practices contribute to the biogenic carbon cycle will increase. THE COMPLICATED CARBON CHALLENGE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31 Additionally, distillers grains, one of the primary coproducts of ethanol production, is a nutrient-dense feedstuff utilized in both beef and dairy rations and is a primary contributor to a lower CI score. “As food distributors, retailers and consumers request lower carbon-intense foods, this is a key contributor to having better scores,” Caldwell said. “Beef cattle have a great story to tell in terms of GHGs already and the opportunity to have an even better story through the feeding phase is beneficial. Nebraska’s corn, ethanol and beef cattle industries are incredibly codependent on one another, and the more value they can all bring to the ‘golden triangle,’ the better for Nebraska as a whole.” Carbon Contracts The last speaker at the breakout session was David Bracht and he shared valuable information regarding carbon contracts. “Agriculture, and especially the beef industry, is often cast as the villain in the climate change debate,” Bracht said. “However, increased interest in sustainable agriculture is creating opportunities for farmers and ranchers to be rewarded through carbon contracts. Essentially, a farmer or rancher entering into a carbon contract is paid to adopt certain farming and ranching practices that result in additional carbon being stored in the soil, usually through increased organic matter in a biological activity.” A carbon contract is a legal agreement between a company and a landowner (typically a farmer or rancher) to undertake
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