The
agreement will make it easier for CHS's 75,000 farmer-members to
enroll in Bayer's Carbon Program, an early leader in the drive
to encourage farmers to capture carbon by planting off-season
crops, tilling the ground less and use fertilizer more
efficiently.
It also expands the program from 17 states to 21, the companies
said.
The Bayer Carbon Program pays growers up to $9 an acre for
planting cover crops and reducing soil tillage. Farmers in the
program log their practices on digital platforms to generate a
carbon credit.
Agricultural companies use the credits to offset the climate
impact of other parts of their businesses or sell them to
companies looking to reduce their own carbon footprints.
It is the latest collaboration between large agricultural firms
racing to sign up acres for carbon sequestration, or trapping
atmosphere warming carbon underground, and environmental credit
trading programs.
Some farmers have embraced the carbon programs as a welcome new
stream of revenue and a potentially powerful tool to combat
climate change. Others have voiced suspicion that companies will
collect farming data that will be used to sell them more
products.
CHS will pay its members an additional $3 an acre for enrolling
in Bayer's program and purchasing certain products such as
"enhanced-efficiency fertilizers." Payments will be distributed
in the fourth quarter of 2022, CHS said.
(Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago; Editing by David Gregorio)
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