February 16, 2024
Associate Professor Alejandro Plastina published an article in the most recent issue of Carbon Balance and Management. Plastina, with Haeun Jo of Iowa State University and Oranuch Wongpiyabovorn of South Dakota State University, authored the article "The business case for carbon farming in the USA." The article examines the potential effects of alternative private payment regimes, prices paid to farmers relative to out-of-pocket costs, and the availability of information on CO2 sequestration, on the adoption of cover crops and no-till in the United States, the resulting CO2 sequestration, and changes in farmers’ net returns. Results indicate that agricultural carbon markets can be profitable for U.S. farmers, although with substantial geographic variability, and that annual carbon sequestration could range between 17 and 75 million mtCO2e.