Lou Liva serves the northwest Illinois region as a Conservation Specialist for Precision Conservation Management. In a recent farmdoc webinar, Lou shared his experience working with farmers and a few tips and tricks for navigating the evolving world of carbon markets and cost-share programs.

Hear more from Lou Liva below:

When a farmer joins PCM, they meet with a Sepcialist like myself for an enrollment meeting to review current practices, goals, etc. PCM is free to join and there is no commitment to change your current farming practices! We are here to help you maximize your profitability and compare your farm to others in your region. We even offer a sign-up payment for farmers who enroll in PCM.

PCM Specialists meet with enrolled farmers 4 times a year (in-person or via phone):

1. Enrollment Meeting – collect information about current practices and goals
2. Pre-Harvest Meeting – review growing season, plans for next year
3. Harvest Data Collection – Specialists provide support in collecting and entering data into PCM’s secure data portal (data is instantly anonymized)
4. Resource Assessment & Analysis Plan (RAAP) Delivery (first quarter of the year) – confidential personal data and benchmarking, field-by-field analysis, recommendations for going forward

Cost-Share Programs

We also help you maximize cost-share opportunities for new or existing practices. This type of funding comes from two sources: Federal and Private. We know which programs can stack and the pros and cons of various contract types. Our job is to help farmers decide which opportunities are best for them – whether that is an exclusive PCM cost-share opportunity and/or a cost-share program outside of PCM. Stacking carbon programs alongside federal cost-share, such as traditional NRCS programs, or the assortment of new Federal Climate-Smart Commodities projects such as Farmers for Soil Health is the most effective way to maximize revenue through these channels.

Carbon Markets

This is a rapidly changing landscape, and PCM Specialists like myself work diligently to stay on top of changes and new opportunities. Here are a few things to consider before committing to any contract or program:

1. Do programs pay for new practices only, or existing practices? Many programs require additionality and only pay for practices changes. PCM’s exclusive PepsiCo Incentive Payment Program is an opportunity for farmers to get paid for existing practices.
2. Contract length and terms – Flexible contract terms can make growing season decisions much easier for farmers. PCM’s PepsiCo program and other year-to-year carbon market programs offer more flexibility than multi-year contracts.
3. Time burden for the farmer – PCM takes on the brunt of the data collection for you, but not every program operates this way. Consider the value of your time when deciding on program enrollment.
4. What is the payment structure? Pay for practice programs like PCM are the most transparent pricing structures. Outcome payments are based on carbon assets generated by your farming practices. This is much less clear for farmers.
5. What is the funding source? Payments can be stacked, but usually only if they are pulling funds from different sources. PCM Specialists stay on top of these rules and find opportunities for farmers to maximize their payments.
6. What happens with your farm data? Data security is a top priority for PCM, but that isn’t always the case. Make sure your data is not going to be shared or sold to others before you sign a contract.

Even if you are not participating in any of these programs yet, it is time to get your field data in order. This is going to be important for your farming operation going forward. There is no single standard way of organizing your data, so you can do this in whatever way works for you. PCM helps organize your data before delivering confidential RAAP reports each year.

If you are interested in enrolling in PCM, please reach out to myself or your regional Specialist! We are here to help.

Lou Liva

PCM Specialist Lou Liva serves farmers in the Northwest Illinois region. He enjoys assisting farmers in reaching their goals by using conservation best practices and the strong financial data that Precision Conservation Management provides.

Meet Lou