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NCGA project aims to clear up carbon markets

The National Corn Growers Association’s vice president of sustainable production and value chain engagement says the goal of a new partnership with Ag Data Transparent is to clarify carbon markets for farmers.

Sean Arians tells Brownfield it’ll be a tool to help farmers mitigate risk.

“Help farmers understand what are the differences in some of these programs?”  He says, “What are the benefits, the risks, the opportunities? We just want to try and create publicly available information so that a farmer can make their best decision for their operation.”

He says the number of carbon programs continues to increase as more industries seek to lower their carbon footprint, and the current ag economy has farmers exploring all possible revenue sources.  

“We know there are some bad players in the space who haven’t fulfilled obligations, and that doesn’t help the good ones who are doing it right.”  He says, “I kind of simply explain this as a Better Business Bureau for carbon markets.”

Arians says the first phase of the project launches this fall, with plans for a new carbon market listing appearing on the Ag Data Transparent website by spring 2026.

AUDIO: Sean Arians – NCGA