04/17/07 Global warming impact on agriculture

The debate continues over global warming and new report from an international panel has some mixed conclusions says American Farm Bureau's Allison Specht. SPECHT "It shows that some areas of the world will show crop increases while other areas of the world may actually be harmed by global warming." We hear, see or read something about global warming almost every day and with the Democrats in control of Congress it's going to remain a hot item on the Hill. SPECHT "Several of the legislative proposals actually include agriculture as offsets in carbon reducing policies. So farmers could be paid for storing carbon in their soil. They could also be paid for capturing methane from anaerobic digesters." Farmers who have gone to no-till, those enrolled in CRP and CSP, would qualify for carbon storage credits. SPECHT "There would have to be a registry system on the amount of carbon that farmers are sequestering. They would be able to sell these offsets on an exchange, called the Chicago Climate Exchange." Specht is telling farmers and ranchers to keep abreast of the doings in Congress because it could ultimately mean new rules and regulations. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott