News Update
November 19, 2014
USDA and Partners Complete First-of-its-kind Sale of Carbon Credits from Working Ranch Grasslands
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Nov. 17 a USDA grant has helped initiate a partnership that is improving the environment, creating a market for carbon credits generated on working grasslands. Chevrolet, a division of General Motors, recently purchased almost 40,000 carbon dioxide reduction tons generated on working ranch grasslands in the Prairie Pothole region of North Dakota.
“This announcement is the first-of-its-kind. The amount of carbon dioxide removed from our atmosphere by Chevrolet’s purchase of carbon credits equals the amount that would be reduced by taking more than 5,000 cars off the road,” Vilsack said. “This public-private partnership demonstrates how much can be achieved with a modest federal investment and a strong commitment to cut carbon pollution.”
Robert Bonnie, USDA’s under secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, announced the purchase and USDA’s involvement in the project at an event Nov. 17 at USDA headquarters. He was joined by Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow of Michigan; Greg Martin, executive director for global public policy at General Motors; Sean Penrith, executive director of The Climate Trust; and Paul Schmidt, chief conservation officer of Ducks Unlimited.
Chevrolet’s first purchase of third-party verified carbon credits generated on working ranch grasslands was undertaken voluntarily as part of its commitment to reduce eight million tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted. This is comparable to the annual carbon reduction benefit of a mature forest the size of Yellowstone National Park.
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) awarded $161,000 through a Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) to Ducks Unlimited in 2011 to develop the necessary methodology to quantify the carbon stored in the soil by avoiding grassland conversions, resulting in the generation of carbon credits.
This is how the credit system works:
- Landowners voluntarily place lands under a perpetual easement but retain rights to work the land, such as raising livestock and growing hay.
- The carbon-storage benefits of this avoided conversion of grasslands are quantified, verified and formally registered resulting in carbon credits.
- The carbon credits are made available to entities interested in purchasing carbon offsets.
The landowners receive compensation for the carbon credits generated on their lands. “Ranchers benefit from new revenue streams, while thriving grasslands provide nesting habitat for wildlife, are more resilient to extreme weather and help mitigate the impact of climate change,” said Vilsack.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Conference on Cattle Confinement is Nov. 24 in Fayette County
The University of Kentucky (UK) College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is cosponsoring the Managing Beef Cattle in Confinement Conference Nov. 24 at the Fayette County Cooperative Extension Service office in Lexington.
The program begins at 9:30 a.m. and wraps up at 3:30 p.m. EST. Registration is $10, and attendance meets the qualifications for the CAIP Cost Share educational requirement.
“This is a great opportunity for Kentucky beef cattle producers to hear from experts who have had experience with confinement facilities and obtain insight on the special management that is needed to make these systems successful,” said Jeff Lehmkuhler, UK ag extension beef specialist. “In addition, they can hear from producers that manage cattle in confinement. This meeting is for anyone who has considered building a building or barn for housing beef cattle.”
Speakers from Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska and Illinois will present on topics including key management issues, building design considerations and the value of manure from confinement structures. Presenters will also discuss legal aspects of water quality and economic considerations. The program will wrap up with a producer panel discussion.
Other sponsors include the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund, the Kentucky Beef Network LLC, Hallway Feeds, Kentucky Bank, Mid-America Farm Credit, Central Kentucky Ag Credit and Hinton Mills.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
Riparian and Stream Ecosystem Workshop set for Dec. 5 in Stonewall, Texas
The Texas Water Resources Institute’s Texas Riparian and Stream Ecosystem Education Program will host a workshop from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 5 in Stonewall for area residents interested in land and water stewardship in the Pedernales River watershed.
The free workshop is cohosted by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Hill Country Alliance, the Texas Nature Conservancy and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office in Gillespie County.
The morning session will be at the Lyndon B. Johnson Group Dining Hall, 199 State Park Road 52, and the afternoon session will include an outdoor creek-walk along the Pedernales River.
The Pedernales River is approximately 106 miles long and is fed by more than 1,000 springs as it runs through the Hill Country in Central Texas.
Melissa Parker, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s river conservation team leader from Austin, said the river, a tributary of the Colorado, is home to 14 endemic species of fish, including the state fish of Texas, the Guadalupe bass.
“To help ensure that the Pedernales River and its associated ecological, recreational and economic values are available for current and future generations, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has partnered with the Texas Nature Conservancy and the Hill Country Alliance to work with private landowners to promote management practices that result in conservation of this valuable resource,” she said.
Nikki Dictson, Texas Water Resources Institute and AgriLife Extension program specialist and coordinator of the program, said trainings will focus on the nature and function of stream and riparian zones, as well as the benefits and economic impacts from proper functioning riparian systems. A riparian zone is the land area adjacent to the bank of a stream, creek, bayou or river.
Dictson said workshop topics will include riparian and watershed management principles, water quality, riparian vegetation, hindrances to healthy riparian areas, stream processes, management practices and local resources.
Workshop presentations will be given by representatives of the Texas Water Resources Institute, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, AgriLife Extension, the Hill Country Alliance, the Hill Country Land Trust and the Texas Nature Conservancy.
RSVP is required for the free workshop and a catered lunch will be provided by Clear River Pecan for a cost of $12. Attendees may also elect to bring their own lunch, as the program includes a lunchtime presentation.
Attendees must RSVP by Dec. 2 to Dictson at 979-458-5915 or n-dictson@tamu.edu, or online at http://texasriparian.org/trainings/upcoming-training-locations/.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
AgriLife Research sets Rangeland Prescribed Burn Training for February and March
The Academy for Ranch Management will host two rangeland AJDburning schools in February and March at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research station located on State Highway 55 between Sonora and Rocksprings.
A Prescribed Rangeland Burning School will take place Feb. 19-21, according to Ray Hinnant, an AgriLife Research senior research associate in College Station. This workshop will provide an overview of prescribed burning and includes information on the history of fire, weather, planning a burn, fuels and fuel moisture, and equipment.
The Advanced Rangeland Burning School on March 6-8 will build on the previous school, providing more information on fire behavior, fire effects, and planning and conducting a prescribed burn, Hinnant said.
The cost for each event is $395, which will include meals and lodging. In addition, Hinnant said, there will be a $45 facilities-use fee due upon arrival for each school.
The Academy for Ranch Management is a program of AgriLife Research and the Texas A&M University department of ecosystems science and management in College Station. The Sonora facilities provide a teaching laboratory for hands-on experience.
Hinnant and Charles “Butch” Taylor, superintendent of the research station, are prescribed burning board lead instructors. Other speakers during the two courses include Mort Kothmann, Texas A&M University department of ecosystems science and management professor, and Nick Garza, an AgriLife Research associate at Sonora.
The Academy for Ranch Management has provided prescribed burn training to more than 200 participants, Hinnant said. More than 150 students have passed the Texas Prescribed Burning Board’s course, which is the educational component to apply for a Certified and Insured Prescribed Burn Manager license.
Also provided is an introductory course in prescribed fire for those interested in prescribed burning as either a volunteer on a burn or to burn on their ranch, he said.
“Our classes are designed to be limited in enrollment, so that the participants can ask specific questions about their ranch or land management burning and to have camaraderie with other participants with similar problems and potential solutions,” Hinnant said.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
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