Agricultural Economics Department

 

First Advisor

Richard K. Perrin

Second Advisor

Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Date of this Version

4-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science

Major: Agricultural Economics

Under the supervision of Professors Richard K. Perrin and Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Lincoln, Nebraska, April 2023

Comments

Copyright © 2023, Andrew M. Havens

Abstract

Along with the recent rise of voluntary carbon markets comes potential carbon credit producers seeking reliable information on how much carbon they can expect to sequester. In this thesis a distribution of expected sequestration outcomes is constructed using cost-benefit analysis and data gathered from agronomic experiments and land-grant university crop budgets for cover crops and no-till practices. The inverse cumulative distribution of carbon sequestration outcomes from adopting a regenerative agricultural practice is visualized and the net social benefit of paying farmers to produce carbon credits is estimated. Results show that on average there is between $29.02 and $37.20 of social benefit produced per ton of CO2e sequestered using no-till, and between -$8.68 and $26.82 of social benefit produced per ton of CO2e sequestered using cover crops. Information uncertainty about the sequestration potential for individual fields means that the outcome for an individual farmer’s field lies somewhere within these ranges, but the results are firmly positive for no-till carbon credit production.

Advisors: Richard K. Perrin and Lilyan E. Fulginiti

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