I realize that in some areas of the country rain is becoming a dangerous situation. But here the rain is very welcome, after one of the hottest and driest summers we have had in a long time, the rain is sorely needed.

My second cutting of alfalfa was very light, due to the lack of moisture in the ground. I do not irrigate and am therefore at the mercy of Mother Nature.  Fortunately, we got the second cutting hay picked up from the field and stored before the rains started.

The rain has also helped with the fighting of several wild fires in the Northwest.

One of the interesting and challenging parts of farming is the weather. One never really knows what kind of crop one is going to have because the weather patterns here in the Inland Northwest can vary so dramatically from year to year. This alone should dissuade me from the hobby of farming, and make me focus fully on my business AgriGreen LLC and the marketing of Carbon Credits (Sinks) for farmers and foresters, but I just can't quit playing in the dirt. A love of the land is something I inherited from my father, he is 83 years old and even though he can't physically do any work around the farm anymore, he still keeps up to date on how everything is doing and is very interested in planning for future activities on the farm.  I think that is what makes farmers so optimistic, they are constantly looking forward to the next crop and how it is going to do. The act of planning the cropping,  buying the seed and planting of the seed is an act of faith and belief that they will be there to see the harvest.  I think that is what keeps my Dad and other senior farmers young.

This spring the Washington State legislature passed E2SHB 2815 the "Green Economy Law".  This is all part of theWest Coast Initative, which involves California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. The law recognizes Agricultural Carbon Sinks and Forestry Carbon Sinks as an intregal part of the Washington State's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas and develop a new forward looking Green Economy for the state. For the sake of discusssion we will use the term Carbon Credit and Carbon Sink as interchangeable.

Agricultuaral Carbon Credits (Sinks) and Forestry Carbon Credits (Sinks) is what AgriGreen LLC is in the business to market to the public and businesses.  Currently there are several state appointed working committees to help develop the rules and regulations to implement the law.  Two of the working committees are of interest to AgriGreen. The first is the Agriculture Working Committee, I am attending the meetings and am providing input where I can.  It is the interest of my farmer and forester clients that the marketing of carbon sinks be a free market enterprise and not a government controlled process. Next we want a fair accounting of the carbon sinks being created by our clients and not some ultra conservative number that isn't fair to the farmers, foresters or  a too liberal accounting which isn't fair to the public.

The second working committee I am watching is the Forestry Working Committee.  This committee I am monitoring by internet and email and will provide written testimony on a as needed basis on the appropriate issues.

The US government is working on its own version of the Cap And Trade legislation which will make the marketing of Carbon Credits (Sinks) an enterprise with even more national emphasis. The European Union is already involved in Cap and Trade practices and laws. Australia is also ahead of us.  This means there is an international market for our Agricultural Carbon Credits (Sinks) and Forestry Carbon Credits (Sinks).

AgriGreen LLC has also been contact by Mexican interests, to enroll subsistence farmers in Mexico into the AgriGreen program.  We are considering doing such for a couple of reasons. 1.  to encourage appropriate conservation and farming practices and 2. provide some income for these farmers.  The condition we, AgriGreen, are putting on the endeavor is that the carbon credits (sinks) produced by the Mexican farmers will be marketed by AgriGreen to the international market only and not in the USA, so as to not put our own farmers and foresters at a disadvantage in our own market.

Everyone should begin considering Offsetting their Carbon Footprint.  AgriGreen besides working on a larger wholesale market basis with large industries, we have also put together some convienantly priced packages for the average person, couples or families and for small businesses.  To find out more about AgriGreen LLC and the AgriGreen program, please visit our website at agrigreen.net.

We occassionally put a few of the packages up for auction under the Everything Else, Other category.

What is Carbon Farming? It is farming in a manner to maximize the carbon sequestration ( carbon sinks) per acre of a particular farming operation. When the farmer changes his/her practices to maximize the carbon sinks (carbon storage) per acre of his/her land, we all benefit. As a result of farming with an eye on carbon sinks per acre; the mechanical inputs (number of times equipment is put over the ground for cultivation, planting, maintenace and harvest) are reduced. Therefore, there is less fossil fuel expended and fewer carbon dioxide emissions released to the air.

Additionally, changing from the historical cultivation methods for grains, such as wheat, to no-till practices can change the operation from a negative carbon process, wherein, more carbon is released than is stored, to a situation where 1.5 carbon sinks are created per acre. Remember a carbon sink represents the removal of 1 ton of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) from the air and the storing of nearly 1/2 ton of carbon in and on the soil as organic matter.

Other changes, such as moving toward grass fattened beef rather than the typical grain fattening process, can have a dramatic effect on the carbon sequestration in the process of the provision of food to our table. Grass can create 24+ carbon sinks per acre versus no-till grains 1.5 carbon sinks per acre. Additionally, grass fattened beef has higher levels of ALA than grain fattened beef. ALA is a vital nutrient for our bodies. (I am not promoting the concept of 100% of the beef  be grass fattened, I only put forth the agrument for an example of what carbon farming is).

Less greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, less the tendancy toward climate change. Plus a carbon sink through the process of photosynthesis and decay is building organic rich topsoil which will grow our food supply in the future.  So a carbon sink provides many benefits for us all and we should be doing all we can to encourage farmers and foresters to sequester (store) as much carbon in their soil as possible.

For more information about Carbon Sinks, why a Carbon Sink is so beneficial and what the AgriGreen program is all about. Please go to agrigreen.net 

There has been a great deal of discussion in the news media about CARBON CREDITS, CARBON FOOTPRINT, CARBON SINKS, CARBON SEQUESTRATION and CLIMATE CHANGE.  All of the discussion has been centered around the concept of drive less  and walk or bike more.  How about this for a little climate heresy "driving more will save the planet".

Chris Goodall, a UK Green Party member and former parlimentary candidate and the author of How to Live a Low-Carbon Life has come up with this conclusion: "Food production is so energy intensive that more carbon is emitted providing a person with enough calories to walk to the shops than a car would emit over the same distance. The climate would benefit if people avoided exercise, ate less and became couch potatoes."

His calculations finds that driving 5km in the typical or usual British car adds about 1kg of CO2 to the atmosphere. Walking the same distance uses about 180 calories and would need about 100grams of beef to replace the calories, resulting in 3.6 kg of emissions, four times higher than driving.

No matter what you think of Goodall's conclusions, we still need to compensate for or offset the carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) emissions to the atmosphere. The atmosphere is becoming overloaded with CO2. The best way to address the problem is to remove the CO2 from the atmosphere and sequester (store) it.  This is what a carbon sink does, it removes 1 ton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequesters or stores nearly 1/2 ton of carbon on and in the soil as organic matter and then releases the remaining oxygen back to the air.

Please take a look at agrigreen.net, the website for AgriGreen LLC, to learn more about carbon sinks and how they are providing a 3fer for your investment. It removes greenhouse gas from the air, rebuilds and restores topsoil and helps the family farmer and small forester to stay in business.

Why don't farmers just atomatically convert operations to maximize carbon sequestration? The answer is they have to feed their families just like you and they will grow the crops that provides for their family's financial needs.

When it comes to making management decisions on my farm to maximize the number of carbon sinks produced, I am lucky. I do not have to rely on the farm for my family income, in fact, I never have relied on it. I have two businesses, and my wife has a job. Therefore all our financial needs are taken care of  from sources other than the farm, which frees me to make decisions that may temporarily reduce production, or to chose one crop over another to maximize the creation of carbon sinks per acre, without regard to earnings per acre for the year. 

Most farmers don't have that luxury and they make their decisions based upon several factors including stewardship of the land and the financial needs of the family.  They may want to put a field into grass, but the financial needs of the family may mean continueing to crop into grains. The farmer can't take a big hit in the pocketbook anymore than you can afford to give up 20 to 40% of your income.  That is why it is important for farmers to be able to sell the carbon sinks they are producing, so that they can make decisions with less worry about the financial security of their family.

Please consider helping farmers and helping yourself and your future by purchasing carbon sinks (credits) from American farmers. Read more about this at agrigreen.net and then consider purchasing one of the carbon sink packages we have for sale here on ebay.