Following the issuance of its fourth carbon crop, Indigo Ag reports their carbon program has sequestered or abated 927,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents since 2018. In addition to carbon sequestration, the program claims to have reduced surface water runoff by 64 billion gallons.
“Indigo continues to prove that soil carbon is a real, scalable, and direct investment in economic and natural resilience,” said Dean Banks, Indigo Ag CEO, in a news release. “It’s bigger than agriculture, the environmental outcomes impact people’s lives, health, and productivity, from small towns to big tech companies. With this issuance, we’ve reached a tipping point in our ability to mitigate business risk and strengthen rural communities.”
The latest carbon crop consisted of more than half a million independently verified carbon credits issued through the Climate Action Reward. Credits are sold year-round and at real market value. Farmers enrolled in the standard program receive 75% of the credit value.
Indigo Ag said the carbon program offers participants an opportunity to diversify farm revenue and introduce new management practices.
“If you had told me six years ago that drones and carbon were our future, I would’ve told you you’re full of it. But that is what we do now,” said Josh McClain, a farmer and program participant. “American ag is facing the largest downturn of net farm income from one year to the next, and profitability is a major concern for farmers right now — going into a year with a lot of uncertainty, low commodity prices, and higher inputs. That’s always a scary time to be faced with. We manage risk through diversification.”
Carbon by Indigo is offered in 28 states and focuses on diversity of management.
EDITOR’S TAKE:
Yours truly has been working to develop productive ways to measure, capture and sell carbon sequestration, since Moses was a baby. It is very gratifying personally, to see programs like Indigo realize success on a broader scale. These types of programs are not only good for the environment, but offer a means to diversify income streams for farmers/ranchers across the U.S. Congratulations to Indigo on their growth and success!
You too can find ways to diversify your income streams from farmers/ranchers. Think of ways you can involve your parts and service departments in offering cost savings or convenience to time-strapped farmers/ranchers, especially during their busy times of the year.
