A new kind of crop is here

Farmers are leading the way in a first-of-its-kind sustainability milestone.

Better Farm Economics,
Healthier Planet

In 2022, 175 farmers produced the world’s first crop of registry-issued agricultural carbon credits at scale. In February 2023, nearly 430 farmers produced a second crop of high-quality carbon credits more than 5 times larger than the first. But why does this matter?

Corporations are looking for accurately measured carbon credits to meet their sustainability goals. Farmers are capturing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in their soils by adopting sustainable practices like cover crops.

Now, farmers across the country are getting paid for that work in the form of high-quality carbon credits to meet buyers' growing demand. These credits are being issued at scale, backed by rigorous science, independently verified by third parties, and with investments from leading corporations.

I see carbon credits as a new valuable option for us long term. The more that companies focus on being carbon neutral, the more valuable those carbon credits are. When you add to that the agronomic and environmental benefits for us, it’s a win-win for everyone.

Lance Unger

Indiana Farmer

A Collective Effort

Paving the way to this first crop of carbon credits were farmers, sustainable investors, soil and data scientists, engineers, agronomists—and many others who saw an opportunity for agriculture.

Stacy Kauk

As the leader of e-commerce titan Shopify’s sustainability initiatives, Kauk was looking for ways to address long-term, big-picture threats to entrepreneurship — which brought her to the unique power of nature-based climate solutions.

Craig Ebert

Ensuring the highest level of quality and transparency in the voluntary carbon market has driven Ebert as the head of the Climate Action Reserve for the last 7 years. The registry’s new protocol for measuring and verifying soil carbon levels means this rigor has now been extended to agriculture.

Audrey Waldrop

Waldrop sees agriculture as the backbone to Blue Bottle Coffee’s business. With the purchase of agricultural carbon credits, that idea has extended from the coffee they brew to the corporate sustainability commitments they make.

Keith Paustian, PhD

With decades of research in land use systems, Paustian had a deep knowledge of different practices that changed greenhouse gas emissions and soil carbon dynamics. That’s when he formed a small team to build a model that could quantify this science on a global scale.

Greg Woll

Woll had been farming corn and soybeans with his brother since 1978. When they needed to save on equipment, labor, and fuel costs, switching to sustainable farming practices looked like an appealing option. Carbon credits are now the cherry on top.

Max DuBuisson

DuBuisson has spent his career translating environmental ethics into sustainable business practices. With Indigo, he saw the chance for agricultural carbon credits to make financial sense for both the farmer and the buyer.

Nell Campbell

Building a model to quantify increases in soil carbon was a new challenge for Campbell. With her team of data scientists and engineers at Indigo, she built a pipeline to quantify soil carbon levels for every field enrolled in the Carbon by Indigo program.

Chris Lehe

The Lehe family started using sustainable farming practices on their 860-acre farm, then learned about the opportunity to earn carbon credits. The Carbon by Indigo program was the perfect fit.

Tim Faveri

With Canadian-based Maple Leaf Food’s mission to be the most sustainable protein company on the planet, Faveri knew his team needed to look at agriculture-based climate projects. Carbon by Indigo was one of the few initiatives he found with high impact and high environmental credibility.

Building
a Way Forward

Explore the journey to Carbon Crops I and II, a groundbreaking effort for the future of sustainable agriculture.

see what's next

↑ ↓

1890s - 1990s

Where did this all begin?

From the Industrial Revolution on, greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide build in the atmosphere over time, impacting climate change.

↑ ↓

1990s - 2019

How could agriculture become a part of the solution?

The previously untapped agricultural solution begins to be explored for how it could address the challenges of climate change.

↑ ↓

June 2019

Could agriculture address climate change at scale?

With sustainable practices such as cover crops and no-till, farmers can sequester carbon and abate GHG emissions — making agriculture an immediate, affordable, and scalable part of the climate solution. In 2019, we launched Carbon by Indigo to get farmers paid for this positive climate result.

↑ ↓

2019 - 2020

Can growers become more profitable through carbon farming?

Growers in the program begin carbon farming in earnest, indicating millions of acres of interest.

↑ ↓

Fall of 2020

How do you verify that carbon has been captured in the soil?

Carbon farming protocols are approved* through two leading global carbon registries – the Climate Action Reserve and Verra – unlocking the unprecedented value of high-quality carbon credits.

↑ ↓

October 2020

Who will support and invest in carbon farming?

A group of 11 initial companies commit to making change with a long-term investment.

↑ ↓

2021

Who will lead the way to produce this new carbon crop at scale?

Farmers were pre-paid as part of the first scalable carbon farming program. Initial grower payments were released based on submitted data, and the verification process began.

↑ ↓

June 2022

Bringing Verified Ag Carbon Credits to Market

The first crop of high-quality, registry-issued credits was generated based on the sustainable practices of 175 farmers whose data was third-party approved, marking an unprecedented sustainability accomplishment for farmers, carbon buyers, and the planet.

↑ ↓

Early 2023

Continually benefiting farmers and the planet

More than 450 farmers were pre-paid for generating the second crop of carbon credits. Farmers who generated credits in the first issuance also received an additional payment to reflect the $30 per credit final payment rate for that issuance, a 200% increase over the original minimum payment rate, establishing Carbon by Indigo as one of the most compelling programs in the market.

↑ ↓

February 2023

Scalable Impact

Indigo’s second crop of carbon credits are approved by Climate Action Reserve and Verra, and released to fashion, finance, tech, and consumer packaged goods, showing how quickly these efforts can scale for real impact.

What's Next?

This new market is now ready to grow – estimated to be worth up to $50 billion by 2030. There’s more carbon to capture, more soil to enrich, more companies looking to meet their sustainability goals, and more farmers to earn carbon credits for their land stewardship.

We look forward to helping farmers maximize this new revenue opportunity while bringing more industry-leading carbon credits to market.

The potential to generate high-quality carbon credits from sustainable ag practices has been on the table for a long time. That potential is finally reality. These credits are tangible evidence that the effects of on-farm practices can be measured to the highest degree of confidence so that farmers have a credible way to benefit from the massive global investment in carbon credits underway.

Craig Ebert

President of the Climate Action Reserve

Follow the Journey to a New Harvest

Carbon by Indigo launched in 2019 to help farmers adopt practices that restore soil health while removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The goal: activate the potential for cropland to be a part of the climate solution while bringing new revenue opportunities to farmers.

01. Momentum at Scale

With the release of a second crop of registry-issued carbon credits, Indigo demonstrates how quickly carbon farming can scale for real impact.
02. Dawn of a New Harvest

Celebrating the milestones leading up to this historic moment
03. The Farmers

Farmers committed to changing how they farm, which led them to capture and store carbon in their soils.
04. The Science

The methodology and rigor needed to measure carbon levels in the soil required the industry’s best minds.

By the numbers

See the momentum made so far by the industry-leading carbon farming program.

Nature-Farming - Farming - farming-barn-1

6.9 M

acres enrolled

Nature-Farming - Farming - farming-wheat

296 k

carbon credits issued

2850

farmers participating

HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE NEXT CARBON CROP?

start carbon farming

Press Release

Inaugural Indigo Credit Issuance Unlocks Farmer Access to Multi-Billion Dollar Voluntary Carbon Market

For the first time, registry-issued ag carbon credits were generated at scale, produced by farmers, backed by rigorous science. and with investments from leading corporations.

Reuters

Indigo Ag to roll out first tranche of farm soil carbon credits

CNBC

Boston-based startup Indigo Ag focuses on climate-friendly farming funded by carbon credits

Indigo Ag

@indigoag

Today we harvest the world's first crop of registry-issued ag #carboncredits at scale 🌱 Why does it matter? Farmers can now get paid for sustainable practices, creating a new ag revenue stream and real, measurable environmental impact → indigo.bz/carbonharvesttw. #ANewHarvest

Jim Richardson

@JimRichardsonNG

This is really a pretty big deal. Farmers getting paid for taking carbon out of the atmosphere and putting it back in the soil. Specifically “175 farmers produced the world’s first crop of registry-issued agriculture carbon credits.” @indigoag #anewharvest

Midwestern BioAg

@MidwesternBioAg

We are excited to be working with @Indigoag to make the carbon farming opportunity real for #farmers, helping them become more profitable through sustainable practices. Sign up for #CarbonByIndigo at indigoag.com/midbioag

Chris Clayton

@ChrisClaytonDTN

Ron Hovsepian, CEO of ⁦ @IndigoAg rolls out sale of 19,000 carbon credits for 175 farmers at CBOT building in Chicago.

AcreValue

@acrevalue

Big news from @Indigoag! We're excited to be working with Indigo to help farmers make the most out of carbon farming. Sign up for Carbon by Indigo: https://indigo.bz/acrevalue. #ANewHarvest

Molly Putzier Toot

@MollyToot5

Glad to be at CBOT with @Indigoag as they announce the first crop of registry-issued agricultural carbon credits at scale. #DawnOfANewHarvest

*Reserve protocol development includes multi-stakeholders workgroups in a public process and protocols are approved by the organization’s Board of Directors.

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A new kind of crop is here

Farmers are leading the way in a first-of-its-kind sustainability milestone.

Better Farm Economics,Healthier Planet

I see carbon credits as a new valuable option for us long term. The more that companies focus on being carbon neutral, the more valuable those carbon credits are. When you add to that the agronomic and environmental benefits for us, it’s a win-win for everyone.

Lance Unger

A Collective Effort

Stacy Kauk

Craig Ebert

Audrey Waldrop

Keith Paustian, PhD

Greg Woll

Max DuBuisson

Nell Campbell

Chris Lehe

Tim Faveri

Buildinga Way Forward

Where did this all begin?

How could agriculture become a part of the solution?

Could agriculture address climate change at scale?

Can growers become more profitable through carbon farming?

How do you verify that carbon has been captured in the soil?

Who will support and invest in carbon farming?

Who will lead the way to produce this new carbon crop at scale?

Bringing Verified Ag Carbon Credits to Market

Continually benefiting farmers and the planet

Scalable Impact

What's Next?

Craig Ebert

Follow the Journey to a New Harvest

By the numbers

HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE NEXT CARBON CROP?

Better Farm Economics,
Healthier Planet

Building
a Way Forward