Despite a falling rain and cool temperatures, a large number of members attended the recent Lampasas County Farm Bureau Annual Meeting.

After a barbecue meal, members heard Lampasas County AgriLife Extension Agent Jason Byrd discuss carbon markets.

Byrd said carbon markets are a potential source of income for farmers and ranchers.

"There is a new emerging issue that could benefit farmers and ranchers," he said. "First, I want to say that I am not for or against this program. I am just presenting information."

In the past few years, many governments worldwide have begun efforts to halt climate change by limiting the amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted by industry. Some of the major causes in the increase of carbon dioxide are the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, population growth and methane gases.

Byrd said to comply with new laws, large emitters such as power plants are allowed to either alter their own operations or pay others to reduce emissions.

If the United States mandates the reduction of carbon emissions, agricultural producers could benefit, as agriculture operations are among the smallest contributors to carbon dioxide, compared to power plants and vehicles. Farmers and ranchers can reduce emissions more cheaply than power plants, for example.

If a carbon credit program were implemented, agricultural producers could sell carbon credits to large companies that need to reduce their emissions. These earnings could range from $1 to $6 an acre per year.

Byrd said some ways agriculturists could reduce or offset emissions would be to decrease fertilization, reduce fuel consumption, implement rotational grazing programs, change tillage practices, rotate crops, convert cropland to grasslands, and plant trees or seeds to change open land into forest or woodlands.

"Plants take in carbon dioxide and convert it to oxygen," the Extension agent said. "That is one thing most farmers and ranchers have, and that is plants. The more plants, the more carbon dioxide is taken out of the atmosphere."

Byrd said the cost of changing a farmer's or rancher's operation could be costly, however, and they must have an economic incentive to change their production practices to participate in the carbon market. Also, there would be registration fees, trading fees and a verification fee to participate in the program.

The U.S. Chicago Climate Exchange provides some opportunities for buyers and sellers to trade carbon credits. Additional information is available at the Web site www.chicagoclimatex.com.

To conclude, Byrd said if the United States decides to regulate greenhouse emissions, the price of carbon likely would increase, giving an economic incentive to farmers and ranchers to participate in the carbon market. "However, landowners at the present time should be reluctant to jump in with all the uncertainty."

A brochure on carbon markets is available at the local Agrilife Extension office.

Also at the annual meeting, Farm Bureau State Director Richard Cortese encouraged Farm Bureau members to support Proposition 11 in the upcoming Texas Constitutional Amendments Special Election on Nov. 3. He said Prop. 11 is needed to protect property from unfair seizure.

"This constitutional amendment is the first step in reforming Texas' eminent domain laws," Cortese said. "It would stop the government from taking private property from a landowner and giving it to another for their personal gain.

"Private property rights are a cornerstone of our society and must be protected in Texas."

Cortese added that the only problem with the proposition is that it is poorly written, and some people may be confused about what the amendment is designed to do.

Lampasas County Farm Bureau President Mickey Edwards moderated the annual business meeting, where the 2009-2010 board of directors was elected.

Farm Bureau directors elected for the coming year were Bufard Carlisle, Allen Craft, Charlene Ruzicka, Walter Ruzicka, Henry Stoneham, Alex Wittenburg and Mike Hail.

Barney and Christine Groves, Mickey and Jani Edwards, Henry and Patsy Stoneham, Asa and Jonna Langford, Jim and Laura Spivey, John and Teresa Davis, Walter and Charlene Ruzicka, and Mike Hail were selected as delegates to the upcoming Farm Bureau State Convention.

Edwards said the mission of Texas Farm Bureau is to be the voice of agriculture, and the vision is to benefit all Texans through promotion of a prosperous agriculture industry for a viable, longterm domestic source of food, fiber and fuel.