By Sepehr Achard
September 19, 2024
Key Takeaways:
- CIBO Technologies has expanded its Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) solution to 19 states, up from the initial four.
- The EQIP expansion helps farmers combine government financial incentives with corporate funding programs.
- CIBO’s solution streamlines the application process, allowing farmers to optimize their funding opportunities and reduce administrative burdens.
- The USDA increased the EQIP budget by $1.65 billion in 2024, providing more financial support for conservation practices.
- CIBO plans to expand the program to additional states and offer more funding programs in 2025.
CIBO Technologies, a climate software company specializing in agriculture, has expanded the scope of its Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) solution within its CIBO Impact platform. The EQIP solution is now available across 19 states, enabling more farmers to access government financial incentives and corporate funding programs to support conservation practices.
Expanding Farmer Access to Financial Incentives
The expansion comes at a time when the USDA has increased its EQIP budget by $1.65 billion for 2024, offering additional financial support to farmers implementing conservation practices. CIBO’s platform is designed to simplify and strengthen the EQIP application process, addressing challenges faced by farmers, USDA service centers, and private companies with Scope 3 emissions goals.
By connecting farmers with both public and private financial resources, CIBO aims to facilitate the transition to more resilient farmland. Daniel Ryan, CEO of CIBO Technologies, emphasized, “Our goal is to ensure that farmers can start with EQIP and secure the highest payments possible. We are opening the door for critical funding and helping farmers leverage incentives from both public and private programs.”
Streamlining the EQIP Application Process
CIBO Impact offers features that reduce the time and effort farmers typically spend on the EQIP application process. The platform allows farmers to evaluate “what-if” scenarios, where they can see how different practices may influence the strength of their application relative to state-specific priorities. This feature helps farmers identify which practices best fit their farm while maximizing their chances of receiving funding.
Additionally, the platform pre-populates forms, handles digital submissions, and ensures receipt by USDA service centers, minimizing the need for repeated trips to the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office. This streamlined approach saves farmers time and reduces the risk of application errors or omissions.
Agronomist Noah Goza, who helps farmers navigate conservation programs, praised the system: “CIBO helps me navigate multiple public and private programs at the same time to see what is available and how they can stack for each farmer on a field-by-field basis, allowing me to focus on helping farmers implement practices.”
Expanding EQIP Access Nationwide
Previously available only in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Ohio, CIBO’s EQIP solution has now expanded to 19 states, including Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, and Wisconsin. CIBO plans to expand to more states and introduce additional financial incentive programs by 2025.
CIBO syndicates its EQIP solution through its Grower Network Partners (GNPs), a group consisting of co-ops, agronomists, associations, and retailers who serve as trusted advisors to farmers. These partners play a crucial role in supporting farmers throughout the EQIP application process, ensuring they have access to the most relevant and beneficial programs.
As CIBO continues to expand, the company remains focused on helping farmers tap into available resources to support sustainable farming practices. By combining federal and corporate funding programs, CIBO aims to foster a more resilient agricultural system.
Looking Ahead
With plans for further expansion in 2025, CIBO Technologies aims to make its platform accessible to even more farmers across the U.S. The company is also looking to include additional programs, providing farmers with more opportunities to access financial incentives for conservation practices.
CIBO Technologies Latest News
Partners With Anew Climate (2024/07/18)
CIBO Technologies and Anew Climate have partnered to improve the Locus Agriculture CarbonNOW program. The CIBO Impact platform will assist growers in monitoring soil carbon results, automating program enrollment, soil sampling planning, and reporting processes. The platform features the Control Plot Manager for accurate carbon credit quantification. CarbonNOW is the first U.S. carbon farming program to use biologicals as an approved practice change. The partnership focuses on data integrity and climate benefits, allowing for the monitoring of the program’s impact and quantifying climate benefits from soil carbon to credit.
CIBO Technologies & The DeLong Co., Inc. Partners to Boost Regenerative Agriculture (2024/06/28)
CIBO Technologies has partnered with The DeLong Co., Inc., a family-run enterprise with 38 grain, agronomy, and export locations in the US, to assist farmers in finding, qualifying for, and enrolling in regenerative agriculture incentive programs supported by the USDA and private companies. The partnership aims to enhance farm profitability and sustainability by providing new incentive opportunities to growers, promoting sustainable and climate-resilient farming practices. The CIBO Impact Platform will help scale access to public and private programs that encourage regenerative agriculture practices, increasing near-term profitability and long-term productivity for farmers. Benefits for farmers include increased sustainable agricultural incentive payments, prequalification of land, simplified program enrollment, automatic prequalification for new programs, and navigation of NRCS programs.
Unveils Comprehensive Scope 3 Offering for Agricultural Enterprises (2024/05/29)
CIBO Technologies has introduced a comprehensive end-to-end Scope 3 offering to assist agricultural enterprises in identifying, measuring, reducing, and reporting carbon emissions throughout their supply chains. The CIBO Impact platform and its network of Grower Network Partners help decarbonize agricultural commodities and promote the adoption of conservation practices through farmer incentive programs. This offering addresses challenges in carbon emissions reporting and aims to support the transition to more sustainable agricultural practices.
