Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, in his March 23 briefing to reporters, mooted converting the CCC (Commodity Credit Corporation) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, since the 1930s, into a new carbon market bank. A time period for public comments on what is called “climate smart agriculture and forestry” is now open, from March 16 to April 29. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-03-16/pdf/2021-05287.pdf
Not just farmers, but eaters at large would do well to tell Vilsack just what he can do with his CCC carbon bank proposal.
The concept of the CCC under President Franklin D Roosevelt, and Agriculture Secretary Henry Wallace was to stabilize prices for the farmer and provide food security to the public. The CCC to the present can spend up to $30 billion for various kinds of price supports, from buying food, and either storing or distributing product, to other interventions, such as mitigating the effects of the trade conflict with China. Congress then mandates topping up the CCC to the $30 billion mark, as needed.
Vilsack was speaking at the “Ag & Food Policy Summit,” sponsored by the media group Agri-Pulse.
Vilsack made the leap from the CCC being “market” oriented to saying it should be a “carbon market” oriented support mechanism. “So it’s really designed for this kind of money,” for carbon credits. He addressed the idea of a USDA carbon bank that could induce farmers to adopt “climate smart” practices, and set floor prices for the carbon that is sequestered in trees or in the soil.
