About The Carbon Company

John Olesen
Office – (719) 740-0302
FAX – (303) 957-5707

Brief Biography of John Olesen

Throughout my childhood, I farmed with my grandfather on the plains of Eastern Colorado. Today we continue to grow wheat, corn, alfalfa, and hay on land twenty miles north of Limon, Colorado. A large herd of cattle keeps me particularly busy. Working on the farm only begins my experience with the land. Weekend camping trips with my father enhanced my love of nature while growing up, and today, my recreational interests include all out door activities such as hiking, snow and water skiing.

After graduating from Limon High School in 1998, I attended Northeastern Junior College and learned from “down-to-earth” professors. I then graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from Colorado State University in 2003 at which time I worked for the Central Colorado Water Conservation District in Greeley. As we worked to increase water storage in Colorado, my supervisor often remarked on the extreme highs and lows caused by faster, earlier snow melts. Having missed the farm, I moved back home and bought my own cattle. It was then that I began to recognize the ubiquitous environmental changes.

Land erosion creates gullies throughout the years. Non-native plants invade cropland and pastureland, requiring chemical application or control. Even purportedly land-friendly alternatives have consequences. No-till farming, for example, conserves soil and reduces erosion but requires excessive chemical use. Unfortunately, resistance to herbicides only increases their use and leads to water contamination. Runoff from feedlots further contaminates water supplies. Perhaps most importantly, the weather has become more sporadic and more intense with extreme winters necessitating ranchers to sell cattle as stored hay dwindles. Extreme droughts and heat waves are getting longer and hotter making it even more difficult to maintain a lively hood while practicing environmentally friendly production methods. All of these issues I have experienced first hand.

Recognition of these problems prompted me to look for positive environmental changes. I began studying carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction methods, hoping to find a social solution to this local and global problem. Renewable energy credits (RECs) seemed like just such a solution. By selling carbon credits, I can facilitate the carbon market, offer a voluntary service to society, and affect positive environmental change. That is why I created the Carbon Company by helping others reduce green house gasses I can have a larger impact on global warming than if I just implemented my own best practices on the farm. I wanted to first provide certified carbon offsets and second I wanted to address the physical removal of carbon from the atmosphere so I decided to also plant trees to sequester carbon. This meets the demands of both urban and rural customers. Our urban customers use the carbon offsets for personal benefit, while our rural customers use the trees for windbreaks and other environmental benefits. Not only do trees sequester carbon but also enrich wildlife habitat and filter water. Therefore, this form of a carbon market appeals to people who may not traditionally support CO2 reduction schemes.

Compelled by insight, I have also begun to make positive changes in the way I raise cattle. We feed wheat straw and other byproducts so as to reduce the amount of land taken away from food production, and our pastureland is confined to bottoms not suitable for food production. An increasing awareness of our small but significant impact on the environment leads us to modify our business practices and personal lives while encouraging others to do the same. The Carbon Company extends this opportunity to everyone.