This has been a really busy year so far. In January alone I traveled across 12 states attending meetings and conferences as well as speaking at a variety of conferences and events across the US. I wanted to take a few minutes and share a few of my key takeaways and some observations about what’s going on regarding Carbon Intensity.
Key Takeaways
- Farmers are eager to come to the table, learn, and position themselves to win big with CI.
- There’s a major disconnect between what biofuel organizations are talking about and what farmers are talking about, especially when it comes to carbon intensity.
- Now is the time to act and farmers have a major seat at the table and they need to take action.
Bridging the Gap with Carbon Intensity
As I’ve traveled, our Continuum Ag metrics continue to back me up. I see incredible excitement about the opportunity for farmers to be part of the solution, not only for low-carbon biofuel, but other potential markets to open up in the future.
Farmers have been searching for a way to connect with the supply chain. They’ve been looking for ways to share their story. They’ve been looking for ways to monetize their data that they have been so diligently collecting for years. With carbon intensity, there’s finally an opportunity for farmers to have a new scoreboard that drives financial outcomes. The yield monitor and the bushel no longer has to be the only unit of measure or the only unit for monetizable outcomes.
Now, the GREET model and carbon intensity can bring real financial opportunity to the table. Farmers continue to join TopSoil, fill out their farm profile, and get their Carbon Intensity Scores on their bushels. We’re almost to one hundred million bushels scored in the system, an amazing feat for such an early initiative for Continuum Ag.
Disconnect Between Farmers and Biofuels
I’ve not only attended farmer events over this past month but a lot of biofuel events as well. At the biofuel events, one of the key topics is carbon intensity and decarbonization, whether it be about Section 45Z, sustainable aviation fuel, low carbon fuel markets (LCFS), or just talking long-term strategy. Carbon intensity is front and center of every single biofuel event or meeting that I’ve had.
These biofuel companies are trying to figure out how to not only utilize things like carbon capture and storage (CCS), pipelines, or other scope one-reducing levers, but they are also looking to farmers to be part of a multi-pronged solution. Farmers DO have the data. Farmers are organized and farmers have found out that they already have very low CI Scores. Our average farmer today has a CI score of 9.9g GHG/MJ.
At farmer events, very few of them have even heard of carbon intensity. Upon hearing a glimpse into this massive opportunity, they get very excited. They are asking us how to get their scores. They’re asking questions like… is their specific biofuel company ready to roll? Are they on board? Are they in position? These farmers see the opportunity here for collaboration, but at farmer events, the carbon intensity opportunity is not even on the radar. I’m excited to be leading the charge and bringing awareness to these critical stakeholders.
2024: The Year of CI
It is GO TIME, and in 11 months from now, we are going to have the 45Z rules in place, and it’s the 2024 crop that will go into low carbon fuel in 2025. We have to ramp up awareness and it’s very apparent to me that Continuum Ag is pushing on this as hard as anybody in terms of bringing awareness, pushing for action, and attempting to drive collaboration at scale.
I appreciate the accolades and folks who have stood up at conferences and thanked me for the efforts of Continuum Ag. We feel that our role is to make farmers and biofuel companies aware that this is such a massive deal. I’ve never seen an opportunity this big in my lifetime, and I can’t guarantee that I’ll see one like it in the future. We have to capitalize on this opportunity and Continuum Ag is glad to be leading the charge.
We continue to be relentless and mission-driven to help one million farmers profit from improving their soil health, and we’ll continue to go to whatever means necessary to make sure that these opportunities are capitalized upon and that farmers and biofuel companies have equitable seats at the table.
Excitement and Outreach
I’m excited for the rest of the year. We continue to be all over the place and try to be at as many events as we possibly can, spreading the word about CI wherever we can spread it.
We want you to continue to help us as well… please share this with others, attend our events, and subscribe to our YouTube page. We’re pushing hard and bringing awareness to as big of an audience as we can. We need your help to continue to push this and make sure that this opportunity is not wasted.
I am looking forward to the continuation of a massive year!