EcoEngineers, an international renewable energy consulting, auditing and advisory firm based in Des Moines, is launching a new executive education program for farmers and agribusinesses to learn about life-cycle analyses (LCA). The LCA Academy will focus on LCA concepts, methodologies and the role of LCA in environmental, social and governance, compliance, and conservation. The program will be held June 25-26 at the Hotel Fort Des Moines in downtown Des Moines. After the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Internal Revenue Service announced that starting in 2025, biofuel tax credit applications under 45Z will be required to perform an LCA to determine the amount of credit they can receive. Further guidance from the IRS declared a 10-point reduction in a farm’s carbon footprint if it adopted certain regenerative farming practices such as cover cropping, no-till management or nitrogen management. “This is the first time the IRS requires an LCA to apply for a biofuel production tax credit,” Jim Ramm, director of U.S. biofuels at EcoEngineering, said in a prepared statement. “As climate regulations and tax credits evolve, consumer preferences shift and opportunities in voluntary carbon markets emerge, LCAs have become the cornerstone of impactful innovations in carbon removal. Now, there is an opportunity for farmers and ethanol producers to take advantage of this.” To learn more about the LCA Academy and to register, click here.