Farmers, take note: Carbon stored in soil could soon become its own commodity crop. That’s the message from developers, corporations, and legislators pushing for new carbon markets specifically tailored to agriculture.

In the first three parts of this series we identified agriculture’s responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions, and some solutions. Another way to lower overall GHG is through viable carbon trading platforms. In effect, farmers who do specific practices would participate in carbon trading markets and get paid to store carbon and build soil health.

Getting paid to sequester carbon with farming practices is now a reality through the CarbonNOW program from Locus Agricultural Solutions. This year’s price for sequestration, established by the Nori carbon marketplace, is $15 per ton. If you already practice no-till, use cover crops and integrate livestock, you could already be sequestering carbon at a rate between a half-ton and a ton and half per acre, per year. Locus Ag works with Nori, a carbon marketplace that uses COMET-Farm, a USDA tool, to validate carbon sequestration and pay growers. Nori, in turn, works with dozens of companies that have expressed a determination to reduce their carbon footprint and are seeking ways to offset the emissions they generate.