North Eastern Montana Counties Qualify for Carbon Offset Credits

The National Carbon Offset Coalition (NCOC), a Montana-based organization, allows Ag producers and landowners to earn income by storing carbon in their soil through no-till crop production, long-term grass seeding practices, grazing management practices, grassland, forestry, and methane capture projects.

NCOC is an aggregator of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) that enters carbon credits onto the market place. NCOC enrolls landowners’ acreages of carbon projects into blocks of credits that are then traded on the exchange, much like other agricultural commodities are traded.

Large companies and other entities that are members of CCX purchase credits daily on the exchange to offset their own carbon emissions into the atmosphere on a voluntary basis. Once credits sell, landowners earn income based on the acres they have enrolled. As an example, this month, NCOC distributed over a $230,000 to 66 landowners for the sale of their carbon. Carbon has been selling at a rate of $4.50-$5.60/ton this month.

Philips, Roosevelt, Sheridan, McCone, Garfield, Richland, and Dawson counties are qualified for enrollment in the NCOC Program for conservation tillage, rangeland, ag methane, forestry, and grassland plantings. Ted Dodge with the National Carbon Offset Coalition will present information about the newest carbon credit opportunities which landowners can apply their acreages of carbon through April 2008.

NCOC will be conducting workshops throughout northeastern Montana. The workshops are scheduled to begin on April 8th through April 11th. All landowners and the public are invited to attend.

The following are the locations, times, and places for the upcoming workshops.

April 8th Tuesday – Philips County Library, (Basement) in Malta 10:00 am to 12:30

April 9th Wed. – Nemont Telephone, 720 2nd Ave. in Scobey 10:00 am to 12:30

April 9th Wed. – Sheridan County Courthouse (Bicentennial Rm)
in Plentywood 1:30 pm to 3:30

April 10th Thur. – Elks Lodge (Lodge Rm) in Sidney 10:00 am to 12:30

April 10th Thur. – Hungry Joe Hall, 323 E. Berry in Glendive 1:30 pm to 3:30

April 11th Friday – Smidtz Banquet in Circle 10:00 am to 12:30

April 11th Friday – VFW Hall in Jordan 1:30 pm to 3:30

For more information about the workshops, contact Ted Dodge at (406) 491-4471 or Emily Tafoya at (406) 491-4472. Visit the NCOC website at http://www.ncoc.us for specific rates based on land use.