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Iowa farmer ready to dip toe into carbon markets

A central Iowa farmer is exploring carbon credit opportunities.

But Corey Hillebo of Polk City tells Brownfield he’s treading lightly.

“What it seems like right now is it’s just a race to get people signed up. I’m for it, I think it’s a good thing, but it seems like there’s a lot of people who don’t know exactly how it’s going to work.”

He says one of the challenges is ensuring carbon markets are fair and equitable.

“In my mind, and I have no idea if this has validity or not, but I kind of see carbon as something that could be traded on the Chicago Board of Trade as something that’s always changing, you know how much it’s worth. It’s the Wild West right now in terms of un-regulation.”

Hillebo has heard some companies offer $45 per ton for carbon while others offer $10 or $15, and he says all of them are trying to lock in multi-year commitments.