As the process of making sustainable aviation fuel continues to unfold, knowing your carbon intensity score will serve farmers well if they are planning to deliver to ethanol plants that expect to make SAF. That’s because new tax incentives for biofuel producers center around feedstocks produced with climate-smart, low-carbon practices.  

So, what is a carbon intensity score? Every fuel is scored based on the amount of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emissions associated with a megajoule of energy. The score considers everything associated with producing, distributing and consuming fuel. 

A farmer’s CI score, or carbon footprint, includes everything in the production and delivery of the crop to an ethanol plant. Currently, grains contribute from a third to a half of the carbon intensity of a gallon of biofuel. 

Why it matters 

Beginning Jan. 1, the Treasury Department will offer tax credits for the production and sale of low emission transportation fuels, including SAF.  

A CI score of zero equates to carbon neutrality. Today, the estimated national average CI score for corn is 29.1g of greenhouse gases per megajoule of ethanol energy 

Farmers who reduce their corn’s CI score below 29.1 GHG/MJ are being sought after and paid for their low-carbon crop and the data associated to prove the score.  

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The details are yet to be approved by the Internal Revenue Service, but the value per bushel is estimated to be as much as 5.4 cents per CI point reduced below 29.1. This means farmers can earn substantial new revenue by collaborating with biofuel producers to jointly produce low-CI fuels, says Mike Estadt, an Ohio State University Extension educator. 

“If you could get to net zero, that would be a $1.57 value per bushel of corn,” he says. “With 200-bushel-per-acre corn, that’s $314 per acre.” 

TIME TO SCORE: “If you don’t have the records to calculate your CI score, your corn won’t be eligible for potential premiums for ethanol to SAF,” says Ohio State University Extension educator Mike Estadt. (OSU Extension)

No one is sure how this will work out for the farmer because the refiner gets the credit.  Ethanol plants may need large capital investments to capture carbon dioxide. But the quickest and easiest way for them to qualify for the tax credits may be to source corn with lower CI scores. 

“How much of that $314 does the ethanol plant want to use to put a premium on the farmer’s raw product?” Estadt asks. “There’s going to have to be some share. Because without the corn, you don’t get the credit.” 

Estadt believes this transaction will be negotiated and give farmers more marketing options. Farmers not only will consider the basis when they sell, but also will look for which ethanol plant offers the best carbon premium.  

Tips for collecting data 

Farmers will need to provide data to participate in the SAF pipeline.  

“You will have to keep good records, as companies are going to demand it, or they may not buy your corn,” Estadt says. 

Once a score is determined, certain practices can drastically lower the score. The variables that matter most include: 

Those management practices offer side benefits. “Cover crops grow biomass, help reduce erosion, preserve water quality and provide weed suppression,” Estadt says. “Set yourself up. If you have never done these practices, I encourage producers to go to meetings, talk to experts, go to the no-till council — educate yourself first.” 

Beyond capturing CO₂ in the soil through no-till and cover crops, agriculture has other sources of greenhouse gases. “Nitrous oxide is really the biggest contributor to a CI; it’s not so much carbon dioxide,” Estadt says. “If we can manage our nitrogen better and use less of it or make a change when you put it on, it will go a long way.” 

Get help with score 

It’s rare to find a farmer eager to push more numbers, but it’s a smart move to begin thinking about how to calculate your farm’s CI score. One is at the American Coalition for Ethanol.