Alberta farmers should be preparing themselves for new carbon offset regulations, but details about similar policies in Saskatchewan are unclear.
There has been no word from the Saskatchewan government about what it plans to do about carbon offsets.
However, the head of a carbon company based in Calgary advises Saskatchewan farmers to remain patient and not commit themselves to carbon related programs until more details are known.
“Producers in Saskatchewan would do well to simply ignore the speculation being offered by some groups and worry more about the 2011 crops in the ground and then in the bin,” said Anthony Weisshaar, president of Terra Verde Emission Credits Inc. “There will be ample time to worry about future carbon opportunities.”
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Meanwhile, Alberta Agriculture has posted on its website new agricultural protocols that will be implemented as of January 2012. Others remain in the draft stage.
The provincial government recently sent a letter to Alberta producers informing them about the changes:
• After Jan. 1, 2012, historic credits generated from 2002 to 2011 will no longer be accepted for use for 2012 or thereafter. Farmers will not be able to sell historic credits that have not been aggregated before 2012. They can aggregate them and sell them now to emitters for use in 2011.
• As of Jan. 1, 2012, projects will have to be verified to a level of reasonableness, which means higher costs for verification and lower net payments per acre.
• No price increase above $15 per tonne is planned. This means farmers who have been waiting for an increase likely won’t see one before the historic years 2002 to 2011 are eliminated from the calculations.
• It is anticipated the credit per acre will decline by about one-third after 2012. The tillage protocol is up for review after 2012 and the credit rate may be reduced beyond that. For example, farmers in the dry zones now receive about 0.089 tonnes per acre and those in the Parkland regions receive 0.16 tonnes per acre.
“We expect these levels to potentially be reduced by one-third,” said Weisshaar.
He said it’s probably not a good idea for farmers to hold their carbon credits in the expectation agriculture becomes more regulated or the price of carbon goes up.
“Neither is likely at this time,” he said. “It’s more likely that farmers will lose the opportunity to sell their historic 2002 to 2011 offsets before carbon prices increase.”
The bottom line for Alberta producers is to act now, he said.
