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Ethanol industry continues developing carbon credits for farmers
The CEO of the American Coalition for Ethanol says the industry is continuing to develop programs that reward farmers for adopting climate smart ag practices.
Brian Jennings says there’s significant demand for low carbon ethanol from some of America’s largest trading partners. “Around the world, the environmental attributes of ethanol are still really critically important. And when it comes to exporting ethanol, almost every important export market that we tap into is based on lower carbon scores.”
Jennings says Canada, the top importer of US ethanol, requires lower carbon intensity scores in every province.
He tells Brownfield the industry is working with farmers who adopt soil health practices that generate verifiable data to show reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. “We’re hoping the data we collect will help us fine tune those models and get greater carbon credits so farmers get paid more in the future for the activities they do on the farm.”
Jennings says ACE is partnering with two Nebraska ethanol plants and the local farmer suppliers who’re using conservation practices. “Then, we’re going to work with the University of Nebraska. They’re going to document the actual carbon credit benefits of that. Maybe it’s a cover crop, maybe it’s reduced tillage. There are models today that give credit for those kinds of activities, but they undervalue those activities.”
In 2024, ACE was awarded $25 million through USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) for 100,000 acres near 13 ethanol facilities in 10 states – Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
