By RACHEL LANE

D.C. Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Farmers might soon be paid to increase conservation practices on their land.

A study released late last month indicates that companies are willing to pay for conservation credits to help meet their sustainability goals. Farmers would make changes on the farm, and the purchased credits would pay them for it.

The study was released by the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium (ESMC) and is part of preparation the company is doing as part of plans to introduce the marketplace in 2022.

"The … assessment confirms ESMC's conviction that there is substantial demand for ecosystem services from farmers and ranchers. ESMC is building a voluntary market to monetize those outcomes for producers, using science-based approaches to increase and measure soil organic carbon, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and improve water quality and water use efficiency," said ESMC Executive Director Debbie Reed.

ESMC's stated goal is to build a marketplace that works first and foremost for farmers and ranchers, but meets the needs of corporations to meet regulatory and sustainability objectives. The study and conservation practices on farms was the focus of a Farm Foundation Forum the day the study was released last month.

Conservation on farms has been a focus off scrutiny in recent decades. Government has tried to regulate it, but research has shown farmers respond better to voluntary programs. While they will do only what the regulations require, voluntary programs often show farmers going further than required to get the financial benefit.

One of the problems with the voluntary system, though, is that changing practices on a farm can be expensive and farmers might not have the money to implement the changes.

“Seventy percent of land in the (continental) U.S. is in the hands of private individuals. If you’re going to make any changes … you have to incentivize,” said Kevin Norton, acting associate chief at the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

An additional problem with regulation is the demand for implementation of services across the entire country with no consideration for the different landscapes, soil types, or needs of the communities.

Norton said his organization puts people on the farms to assess and work with farmers to make the best science-based decisions about the land. If the producer makes the decision, “they own it and it will get implemented,” he said.

He said people think to have a quality habitat for animals, land needs to be set aside, but it can still be working habitat that provides for wildlife such as ducks if managed properly.

His organization works with state agencies to stretch money further, and those resources don’t prohibit farmers from receiving payments for carbon benefits. There are already private-public partnerships with Ducks Unlimited, Chevrolet, Microsoft, and Climate Trust Capital.

Many of the changes might not have any added value this year, Norton said. Some conservation goals, like improving soil health, might not have any financial benefit for years.

Gary Price, a Texas rancher and member of the ESMC Steering Committee, has been farming using sustainable methods for more than 40 years. He has purchased former cotton fields to add to his acreage, and said the soil on these is drained of all nutrients.

One pasture on his land, the North Pasture, has never been tilled. He uses that field as his guide. He wants his entire farm to have the tall grass and good soil found there – the soil is more absorbent during flooding and more resistant to drought.

When people tour his farm, even other farmers, they’re amazed at the sight of the North Pasture. Price said his neighbors still don’t have the same conservation practices in place and water will run off their lands and onto the Price farm, which he watches happily since his land is better able to absorb the moisture.

Some of his land has been so dry that there are cracks larger than he’s ever seen, he said, but the North Pasture doesn’t have those problems. “We think we need to master stuff. But if we step back and let the land (it will) tell us what it wants and needs. Work with the land,” he advised.

Bare land is hotter. When Price learned this, he started keeping all his soil covered with vegetation all the time, for instance.

Part of working with the land is moving the cattle for grazing when it is needed, not when it’s convenient. “The land, if we take care of it, can be forgiving.”

The Prices have bred their cattle with attention to the climate (i.e., which breeds are resistant to heat?), but also to the market. Angus beef is in high demand and a good economic investment for farmers.

With all the work they’ve done, there has been an increase in wildlife on the land. People in the region want to visit the farm to hunt and fish. “They say when they come down here, their blood pressure drops. I didn’t understand until I went to the Dallas airport,” Price said.

Joseph Somers, vice president of agribusiness for Intelligence Energy and Natural Resources IHS Markit, said the study for the ESMC program has been researched for the last couple years. The goal is to balance the environmental and economic needs, but sometimes those are the same.

He said improving soil health improves yields and inputs will eventually go down, making farming cheaper.

The goal of the ESMC is to monetize soil health to reward farmers and ranchers for adopting practices to protect the environment. The focus will be on greenhouse gas mitigation and water quality – the mitigation will focus on field crops, pasture and range land, and specialty crops, while water quality work will focus on reducing nutrient runoff.

“Why would companies or organizations want to buy these credits?” Somers asked. “A lot of companies have publicly stated environmental goals … Shareholder and stakeholder expectation to improve the environment.” And, of course, to meet government regulations.

He said all conservation methods are not equal. Some practices may work better in certain regions, with certain soils, than in other regions. The goal is to find out what works best on each farm.

“We do this because we think it’s sustainable long-term and profitable,” Price said, about his own farm. “We’re not saying this is the way it should be done, but it’s worked for us.”

The report may be downloaded for reading from www.ecosystemservicesmarket.org