Louisiana landowners will have the opportunity to learn about carbon credits and how they may benefit at a conference on May 14 at Alexandria, according to the meeting’s organizers.

“A carbon credit is a permit that can be bought and sold in markets that gives monetary value to one ton of carbon dioxide that is sequestered in a solid form such as plant biomass or soil organic matter,” said Dr. Michael Blazier, assistant professor of forestry at the LSU Ag Center’s Hill Farm Research Station at Homer.

At the conference, owners of both agricultural and forest lands can learn how the carbon market works and if they could gain from selling carbon credits, said Dr. Carrie Castille with the LSU AgCenter.

“The conference will give landowners an overview and an opportunity to learn how they might benefit,” Castille said.

Castille said that in addition to presentations on carbon sequestration and carbon credits, the conference will include a panel of aggregators who will explain how carbon trading works.

“Attendees can get their questions answered,” Castille said.

The conference will be held from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the C. Woodrow Dewitt Livestock Facility on the LSU AgCenter’s Dean Lee Research and Extension Center adjacent to the LSU Alexandria campus on U.S. Highway 71 south of Alexandria.

Registration is $35 and includes conference materials, lunch and breaks.

In addition to the LSU AgCenter, conference sponsors include the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Louisiana Department of Economic Development, Louisiana Forestry Association, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Acadiana RC&D Council and Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation.

More information and registration are available online by going to the LSU AgCenter Web site at www.lsuagcenter.com and putting “carbon credit conference” in the search box or by contacting Castille at (225) 773-0972 or at ccastille@agcenter.lsu.edu.

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Contact: Carrie Castille at (225) 773-0972 or ccastille@agcenter.lsu.edu

Michael Blazier at (318) 927-2578 or mblazier@agcenter.lsu.edu

Writer: Rick Bogren at (225) 578-5839 or rbogren@agcenter.lsu.edu