Carbon, carbon credits and carbon trading: these are all terms we will need to get used to in agriculture and could be terms that end up contributing to farm profits as we move into the future of carbon farming.

In the Ag Climatise document, which is the roadmap set out to make Irish agriculture carbon-neutral, there is an action to "develop a pilot scheme in relation to on-farm carbon trading to reward farmers for the public goods they are providing".

Farms with small carbon footprints or sequestering carbon would be rewarded under the action.

Airlines, factories and plants have to purchase permits for every tonne of carbon dioxide they produce and emit

They will be incentivised to sequester more carbon.

How much is carbon worth?

As this is something that could become a normal part of Irish farming the Irish Farmers Journal will keep an eye on carbon markets.

The EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) is used to reduce carbon emissions which cause climate change.

Airlines, factories and plants which burn fossil fuels are among the entities that have to purchase permits for every tonne of carbon dioxide they produce and emit to the atmosphere.

In January of this year, the EU ETS went over €30/t and the market hit a high in March, climbing over €43/t.

At close of business on Wednesday 7 April, the daily EU ETS market price closed at €43.76/t.

One permit gives the holder permission to emit 1t of carbon dioxide.