The small portion — 2 percent — of corn and soybean farmers who have signed carbon contracts said they were ready, if required, to change their production practices to earn the money, according to a Purdue University poll on Tuesday. Most growers said the payment rates were too low to entice them.
“Interest about usage of carbon contracts in row-crop agriculture remains high,” said Purdue’s Ag Economy Barometer, based on a monthly survey of 400 large-scale producers. Six percent of corn and soybean growers said they have discussed carbon payments with vendors, and 2 percent signed a contract. Companies typically offered $20 or less per tonne of carbon captured. Nearly six of every 10 growers said they wanted at least $30 an acre.
Corn and soybean growers unanimously said they already planned to adopt the practices required by the contract that they signed. Three out of every five said their contract mandated changes in production practices.
“Among the farms who engaged in discussions but chose not to sign a carbon contract, half of them said it was because the payment level was too low,” said the Purdue report.
The Barometer, a gauge of the agricultural economy’s health, fell by eight points to a reading of 115 in August, slightly below the rolling 12-month average of 117. Some 44 percent of participants said their farms were in worse financial condition than a year ago.
Purdue interviews operators with production worth at least $500,000 a year for the Barometer. USDA data say the largest 7.4 percent of U.S. farms top $500,000 in annual sales. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.
The Ag Economy Barometer is available here.