With their long-term focus on conservation practices, Iowa farmers are well positioned to earn additional income from practices that sequester carbon to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to Mike Naig, Iowa secretary of agriculture.

But he cautioned there are many questions about how the emerging environmental markets will operate, how results will be measured and how farmers could be paid for implementing practices that sequester carbon, such as no-till or cover crops.

“I’d say there is a healthy skepticism out there, and that’s good,” Naig said last week during a webinar hosted Iowa State University’s (ISU) Bioeconomy...