Indigo Agriculture, a company with a mission to harness nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet, has announced plans to unveil a new brand identity for its carbon farming program: Carbon by Indigo.
The refreshed identity seeks to better reflect the program’s focus on meeting the needs of farmers in an increasingly complex voluntary carbon market. Supported by committed purchasers of verified agricultural carbon credits, Carbon works with growers at every step of the carbon farming journey, from those who are just beginning to think about implementing their first cover crop, to those who are further along down the regenerative path. Distinguished by an emphasis on enabling informed decision-making through a combination of learning resources, agronomic tools, and community-building efforts, Carbon seeks to catalyse action and scale impact.
According to Indigo Ag CMO Jennifer Betka, “Carbon by Indigo conveys the long-term journey of transformation that a decision to farm carbon sparks. By bringing ‘carbon’ to the forefront, we hope to simply speak to the hallmark values – shared ownership, collaboration, and maximised value for all – that guide our support for stakeholders on this journey of sustainable business and land stewardship.”
As private companies increasingly seek out science-based strategies for addressing the environmental impact of their operations, demand for verified offsets (and subsequent interest in regenerative agricultural techniques that generate this new asset) has continued to mount.
Farmers are poised to benefit from the economic and environmental benefits of cultivating a new crop (carbon). Still, access to information is a key challenge to getting started. A recent Ag Economy Barometer study from Purdue University found that while growers were aware of opportunities to earn income from farming carbon, less than 1% have entered a contract with a program aimed to help them do so. The findings are congruent with a recent Indigo-commissioned Nielsen survey, which highlighted that for farmers – a highly conscientious group eager to innovate with new practices like cover cropping and no till but careful to ensure any practice changes they make are right for their unique operation – more support is needed to meet the need for informed decision making and get started with a program today.
“We want to ensure that ‘farming carbon’ is understood beyond just the soil health benefits it provides in order to deliver on its potential as a long-term source of productivity and pride for the ag industry,” said Chris Harbourt, Global Head of Carbon by Indigo.
He adds, “The question for farmers is no longer if the opportunity to become a producer of carbon credits is there, but how can I produce carbon credits in a way that expands my access to the transformative economic opportunity of this new frontier. With Carbon by Indigo, we’ve created an experience that puts growers in the driver’s seat, empowering them with comprehensive supports – educational, financial, operational, technological – as they grow and evolve their operation for years to come.”
By leveraging Indigo Ag’s technological and scientific capabilities, Carbon provides stakeholders across the full carbon farming ecosystem with digital solutions and market insights to ensure the ag industry’s knowledgebase keeps pace with the rapidly developing carbon market.
To facilitate this understanding and mark the identity refresh, Carbon by Indigo has built on its programmatic experience with the launch of several new components available to all growers for free, regardless of their enrollment status. The cornerstone of these educational efforts is “Carbon Farming Connection,” a virtual community learning sessionwas held on June 23. Featuring conversations with industry-leading experts from companies such as Brands for Good, the Climate Action Reserve, and Maple Leaf Foods, the event promises to address the questions on many farmers’ minds today: why, when, and how should I farm carbon? The company has slated another session this December and will continue to amplify focus on convening peer communities.
Laying a path for continued learning for those considering adopting new beneficial farming practices, the company also recently launched Carbon College, a free online series designed to deepen understanding of the agronomic foundations of regenerative farming practices and reduce barriers to practice change adoption.
Accredited by the Certified Crop Advisor Program, the self-guided course delivers applicable on-farm insights and data-backed recommendations for adopting soil health techniques and generating carbon credits in agriculture. Carbon College expands on the company’s suite of educational content, including recurring soil health and profitability strategy webinars geared to those considering the near and long-term benefits of enrolling in a carbon program.
What’s in it for Farmers
Improve Profitability
- Increase income with Indigo Carbon by increasing the carbon in your soil or reducing emissions
- Reduce herbicide and fertilizer inputs with more resilient soil
- Reduce fuel usage from fewer tillage passes
- Increase income with livestock grazing on cover crops
Improve Soil Health
- Improve water availability during drought
- Reduce erosion and retain more nitrogen
- Improve field accessibility
For Buyers
Many companies have already made multi-year commitments to purchase verified agricultural carbon credits through Indigo Carbon. Maple Leaf Foods and Epiphany Craft Malt will purchase verified agricultural carbon credits to further their sustainability objectives. Cool Effect will offer Indigo Carbon credits to buyers on their existing platform, allowing both individuals and organisations to fulfill their sustainability goals with high quality offsets. The North Face will provide Indigo-partner farmers with a premium for cotton grown with regenerative practices and is incentivising new (additional) practice adoption. Through these commitments, the companies join a growing cohort of private industry leaders spurring the global effort to leverage agriculture as a meaningful climate solution.
With an inaugural credit purchase price of US$ 20/tonne of carbon dioxide equivalents sequestered and abated, Indigo Carbon allows companies to directly finance growers’ transitions to cultivation practices that improve their soil health, profitability, and the environment at large. Representing a new income stream for farmers, the credits establish an outcomes-based mechanism to accelerate the adoption of agronomic methods proven to reduce on-farm emissions and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Many companies have already made multi-year commitments to purchase verified agricultural carbon credits through Indigo Carbon. Maple Leaf Foods and Epiphany Craft Malt will purchase verified agricultural carbon credits to further their sustainability objectives. Cool Effect will offer Indigo Carbon credits to buyers on their existing platform, allowing both individuals and organisations to fulfill their sustainability goals with high quality offsets. The North Face will provide Indigo-partner farmers with a premium for cotton grown with regenerative practices and is incentivising new (additional) practice adoption. Through these commitments, the companies join a growing cohort of private industry leaders spurring the global effort to leverage agriculture as a meaningful climate solution.
With an inaugural credit purchase price of US$ 20/tonne of carbon dioxide equivalents sequestered and abated, Indigo Carbon allows companies to directly finance growers’ transitions to cultivation practices that improve their soil health, profitability, and the environment at large. Representing a new income stream for farmers, the credits establish an outcomes-based mechanism to accelerate the adoption of agronomic methods proven to reduce on-farm emissions and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Indigo Carbon: A new income stream for Farmers that will also fight Climate Change!
