It seems like every week brings another story about carbon credits for farmers. There are many factors to consider before jumping in and enrolling your farm in a carbon program. So what is a carbon credit? A carbon credit is created from a carbon offset, which is an activity that prevents the emission of carbon dioxide or another greenhouse gas to the atmosphere that would otherwise be emitted.
This tool is intended to capture a snapshot of the immediate financial expenses and income that a farm may experience in using practices such as cover cropping and reduced tillage, particularly in grain crop systems.
Estimating, or even better knowing, your cost of production on a per bushel or per ton basis helps to determine marketing or purchasing strategies.
Pricing corn silage is a difficult decision because it often comes at a time when emotions between sellers and buyers are high. The seller has the opportunity to sell a corn field for either silage or grain and incorporate the fertilizer value of the stover back into the field. The buyer has the opportunity to buy a corn field for silage or buy grain from the market and purchase low quality straw (wheat or corn stover aftermath) to formulate rations.