The Nebraska Farmers Union will launch a new carbon credit program through the National Farmers Union. The program has been approved by the Chicago Climate Exchange to enroll farmland into blocks of credits that will be traded similarly to other agricultural commodities.

Farmers Union will serve as a carbon aggregator so that individual farmers will be able to group their carbon in large enough quantities to be traded and marketed on the Exchange one year at a time.

Nov. 3 is the deadline for farmers to enroll.

Carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is one of six greenhouse gases that are said to trap heat in the atmosphere, producing an increase in the temperature and global warming. Large companies and other entities that are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere can buy credits of carbon being stored in the soil through the CCX. Once the credits are aggregated and sold, producers earn income based on their enrolled acres.

Farmers Union's new carbon program offers Nebraska farmers and ranchers an in-state source for enrolling eligible cropland or grassland acres into an agreement to store carbon in their soils in exchange for carbon payments, says John Hansen, president of the Nebraska group. New eligible producers can receive payments for both the 2005 and 2006 crop years if they enroll before the fast-approaching Nov. 3 deadline.

"Because of the Nov. 3 deadline, we have been working night and day to get this program up and running as soon as humanly possible so that Nebraska producers will have this last opportunity to 'reach back' and pick up crop year 2005 carbon credits," Hansen says. "We will sponsor public information meetings for farmers on carbon credit after harvest and before spring planting."

Enrollment will be done through the Internet at www.nebraskafarmersunion.org or www.nfu.org. The Web sites furnish producers with eligibility guidelines, frequently asked questions, an income estimator, toll-free telephone numbers, and the relatively simple enrollment forms. For additional information or help in applying, producers are encouraged to contact their local Farmers Union insurance agents.

"No-till is a fast-growing conservation practice that provides many benefits to producers who farm with this method," says Steve Chick, state conservationist with the NRCS. "They can reduce their machinery costs, reduce time planting a crop, reduce fuel usage, improve the organic matter in soil and now receive extra income for what their doing. Why wouldn't you enroll?" he asks.

"Many additional producers can become eligible with relatively minor changes in their tillage operations in the future because they are already doing some no-till today. We believe the value of carbon credits will continue to grow as cap and trade regulations are implemented to deal with global warming," says Hansen.

Nebraska is a national leader with more than 460 carbon credit contracts on nearly 300,000 acres. Nearly 277,000 of these acres are cropland farmed with a no-till system. Partial county survey of 46 Nebraska counties by Natural Resources Conservation Service and Cooperative Extension in 2006 report a 12% increase in corn no-till planted into soybean stubble, and a 13% increase of soybeans no-till planted into corn stubble. Several Extension offices have been assisting producers enroll acres through other entities.

In the program, producers can also be compensated for establishing long-term grasslands, alfalfa, forestry and other practices. These practices also help store or "sequester" carbon and reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The CCX, which sets the program guidelines and boundaries, has divided those counties eligible for participation in Nebraska into Zone A and Zone B. All of Nebraska is eligible for new forestry plantings that meet program guidelines.

The 51 counties currently eligible in Zone A that qualify for both conservation tillage and establishment of grassland and alfalfa are: Adams, Antelope, Boone, Buffalo, Burt, Butler, Cass, Cedar, Clay, Colfax, Cuming, Custer, Dakota, Dawson, Douglas, Dixon, Dodge, Fillmore, Gage, Greeley, Hall, Hamilton, Howard, Jefferson, Johnson, Kearney, Lancaster, Madison, Merrick, Nance, Nemaha, Nuckolls, Otoe, Pawnee, Phelps, Pierce, Platte, Polk, Richardson, Saline, Sarpy, Saunders, Seward, Sherman, Stanton, Thayer, Thurston, Valley, Washington, Wayne, and York.

The 16 counties in Zone B that qualify for establishment of grass and alfalfa plantings only are: Chase, Cheyenne, Deuel, Dundy, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Gosper, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock, Keith, Lincoln, Perkins, Red Willow, and Webster.

The National Farmers Union Board authorized the expansion of the North Dakota Farmers Union carbon credit program to include all the Farmers Union states in mid September. North Dakota Farmers Union will administer the carbon credit program for the Farmers Union states.