North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring has commissioned a broad-based study of the possible economic consequences to the state’s farmers if a national carbon cap-and-trade policy is implemented as part of the climate change legislation now working its way through Congress.

Greg Appleyard steals a few minutes out of a whirlwind day to receive a special delivery with a much sweeter smell — a check for about $100,000.

Developing emissions markets to encourage farmers in poor countries to store more carbon dioxide in no-till soil should be a key topic on the U.N. climate talks agenda, global warming activist Al Gore said.

Farmers enrolled in a program that rewards them for reducing greenhouse gasses are finding the market for their carbon credits has shrunk amid the recession and uncertainty about climate legislation being crafted by Congress.

Low prices brought on by political uncertainty have prompted AgraGate to suspend new enrollments into its carbon credit program.