Alejandro Plastina, associate professor, was interviewed for an Oct. 25 Reuters story, "Dollars in the dirt: Big Ag pays farmers for control of their soil-bound carbon."
Agriculture companies can measure success through the number of acres farmers devote to their programs and commitments from other corporations to eventually buy the credits generated, said Alejandro Plastina, associate professor in economics at Iowa State University. Most of the corporate commitments are vague, however, and the acres in pilot projects remain small, he said.
For little cost, agriculture companies get to showcase their social responsibility, while securing farmers’ loyalty to their digital platforms that can turn into greater farm supply sales down the road, Plastina said.
“It gives (ag companies) the opportunity to associate their brands with caring for the world,” Plastina said. “I don’t expect them to make money on these projects anytime soon.”
This story also covered by:
Yahoo! Finance, Oct. 25
Nasdaq.com, Oct. 25
Market Screener, Oct. 25
Star Tribune, Oct. 30
CorridorBusiness.com, Nov. 1