Interest in agricultural carbon markets and carbon credit trading has everyone from producers to policymakers asking questions about what lies ahead. To help answer questions, a Farm Foundation webinar will air April 12 called “Solving the Barriers to Agricultural Carbon Markets.”

The April 12 forum will be held via Zoom at 9 a.m. Central. It is free and open to the public. Register online at https://www.farmfoundation.org/forums/solving-the-barriers-to-agricultural-carbon-markets/.

The discussion will cover what still needs to be done to advance carbon markets in the U.S., as well as an objective look at carbon markets from an economic and legal perspective. Speakers from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will be Alejandro Plastina, associate professor in economics and extension economist, and Kristine Tidgren, director of the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation. They will be joined by Shelby Myers, economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, and Garth Boyd, moderator and partner at The Context Network and part of the Iowa Carbon Sequestration Task Force.

Plastina is also co-author of an article in Applied Economics Perspectives and Policy, called “Challenges to Voluntary Ag Carbon Markets.” In the article, he examines the actions that are still necessary to accurately measure and assess carbon credits, create demand and secure supply from the agricultural industry.

“The goal of the article is to highlight the barriers to the formation of agricultural carbon markets in the U.S., both from the demand and supply sides,” he says. “There are some major challenges, starting with the corporate pledges to become carbon neutral and creation of a market that the industry can respond to.”