With carbon capture, entrepreneurs lead agriculture's future

American ingenuity and a robust entrepreneurial spirit have always been unique to our country. When it comes to agriculture, new technologies developed by entrepreneurs, and the brave souls who supported them, created entirely new economic opportunities for rural America.

In some cases, like ethanol, these new opportunities did require supportive government policies. However, those policies addressed the demand for biofuels, but they did not subsidize its cost of production. The market for fuel at the pump or at the production plant determined the values. In the end, there was a market and it has created endless new opportunities for rural middle America.

Carbon management and sequestration, whether you believe in it or not, has been defined, legislated, and embedded in the consumer marketplace. Again, like all new technologies, along with their policy-driven solutions, government incentives have been put in place to drive the adoption of these policies and products.

Yet the government support for sequestering carbon is only guaranteed for a short time. So how will this happen? As always, entrepreneurs will step forward with their risk capital and that of investors who are willing to support them.

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They are willing to build the infrastructure necessary to quantifiably collect and manage carbon off specific carbon producing facilities, like ethanol plants, to sequester it. Eventually, with the collection infrastructure in place, and much like the interstate highway system, it’s very likely that entire new carbon-based industries may develop along these pipelines.

Already, we have a clear indication that ethanol can be converted to sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF. The aviation industry demands over 100 billion gallons of jet fuel annually, and that number is expected to grow. The U.S. Department of Energy has established a goal of generating at least 3 billion gallons of SAF by 2030 and, by 2050, sufficient SAFs to meet 100% of U.S. aviation fuel demand. This alone suggests that another non-food, feed, and fiber market will exist. If this is the case, and it results in another market for agriculture, it may be worth $200 per acre.

Of course, with any new technology there are obstructionists. It seems even more prevalent in today’s society where we see dark money groups pay protestors and agitators. These are the same organizations who have been hellbent on destroying agriculture and our way of life for decades. The same that started the food versus fuel debates back in the day are now trying to completely eliminate combustion engines altogether. They have always disdained production agriculture. This is nothing new for our industry.

We should not be deterred. Carbon capture is the next step to opening new markets, expanding the agriculture industry, and growing rural Iowa. When you assess the social, political, and economic value of efforts by entrepreneurs in the history of our country you will find they have consistently enhanced the lives of the Americans impacted by their visions and efforts. One day we will look back and say the same for carbon capture and sequestration.

Tom Dorr, who operated a northwest Iowa family farming, grain elevator, seed, and livestock operation for 30 years, has served as president and CEO of the U.S. Grains Council and as Under Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Contact: [email protected]; 202-365-6518.