GETTING PAID FOR CARBON FARMERS’ TOP 10 CONCERNS
Andrew Voysey, Head of Sales & Carbon, Soil Capital You can be confident in a scheme if with buyer confidence. Seemingly at There are different approaches. Some every turn, it can answer three questions on this schemes will impose a “claw back” getting paid topic. 1. Is the independent standard mechanism so that if you break the for carbon is the talk of they use widely recognised, ideally contract, some of your previous carbon revenues might be owed back. the town. A internationally? Our decision has been that farmers flick through 2. Is the quantification method they r e c e n t use already widely respected in the should be able to exit Soil Capital Carbon at any point without a fee, claw editions of marketplace? Direct Driller 3. Have serious companies already back or legal restriction. We manage market expectations by operating a is proof bought carbon via the scheme? so-called “buffer” - simply put, 20% of enough! As the As an example, our programme (called certificates you generate each year are Andrew Voysey independent Soil Capital Carbon) has been validated set aside and not sold for you until 10 agronomy firm that launched Europe’s by an independent auditor against years later. If you leave our programme, first certified and multinational carbon a standard from ISO (International the only consequence is that you payment programme for farmers, we Standards Organization). We use the forgo those future earnings as those at Soil Capital are certainly part of that Cool Farm Tool, backed by over 100 of certificates have to be written off. momentum. the largest global food and beverage Our scheme was launched in France companies, in conjunction with soil 3. I should wait because: the and Belgium last year. It targets mainly analysis at the beginning and end of the carbon price will rise arable operations and in the first season five year certificate generation period. we signed up around 150 farmers from And when we launched, a range of Analysts certainly expect the price of the more than 800 that expressed companies including Cargill had already carbon to rise in general over the next interest. pre-purchased more than €500,000 of decade, with some views pointing to quite dramatic hikes over this period. As we expand further in those certificates. countries, as of this Summer, we have You should insist on such clarity from As in all markets, I am sure there will be ups and downs on the way. also now brought the programme to all schemes you examine. The real question is - once you are the UK. We’re delighted to already be in a scheme, are you protected against seeing British growers join the ranks of drops in the carbon price and how do their European peers earning carbon you benefit if it rises? payments each year. We have found it important to be But this market is still very new. Every crystal clear on this topic. In our case, day, we talk to farmers who are (quite we commit in our contracts to protect rightly) full of questions about how it 2. I should wait because: the farmers from downside risk and expose works. In this article, I address 10 of the market is young you to upside opportunity. This means most common concerns we hear. Quite right, the market is in its early we insist that your carbon will only be stages of development. Those not sold if it can generate you at least £23 1. There isn’t enough agreement comfortable with some level of risk will per tonne and that, however high the on how to quantify carbon market price of carbon goes, you will be sensitive to this. It is true that finding the right balance But the devil is in the detail on always get a fixed percentage of 70%. between modelling the impacts of the question of making a long-term farming practices and measuring soil commitment now. Is the scheme 4. I should wait because: the carbon directly is a subject of ongoing you are looking at clear about your supply chain will want carbon effort. Scientists and technology rights to exit whatever contractual developers are constantly bringing out commitment they ask you to make? neutral crops new and improved approaches. More importantly, are they clear about It is encouraging that farmers are seeing This evolution will continue for the consequences for you if you do so, growing interest in carbon from the decades, and so it should. We engage such that you understand the cost of supply chain. However, I often hear the with it closely, but it is not realistic for any flexibility they offer? view that this means farmers shouldn’t The challenge schemes face is that get trapped selling their carbon to most farmers to be experts in all these approaches and pick winners. they have to balance farmer flexibility someone else, if the buyers of their
26 DIRECT DRILLER MAGAZINE
ISSUE 15 | OCTOBER 2021
