At CIBO Technologies, 2024 has been a year of partnership-driven progress focused on an overarching goal: supporting more farmers in transitioning to regenerative agriculture. Through a series of strategic collaborations, this year at CIBO has proven that if given the right financial and technical support, farmers are more than ready to adopt or expand practices that not only improve their land, but also benefit the environment and their bottom line.
Working alongside key partners like Truterra, Anew Climate, DeLong Co., Parcel Thrive, Scoular, and many others, CIBO has enabled farmers to access critical financial resources, receive technical support and stack public and Scope 3 incentives.
Here’s a look at the exciting progress we’ve made with our value chain partners and how we’re supporting companies and farmers through these critical transitions.
Accelerating Access to Financial Support
Farmers want to be good stewards of the land. They are deeply connected to the soil, the environment, and the communities they support. But when adopting or expanding their conservation practices, they need support in de-risking the transition.
A major challenge in regenerative agriculture is ensuring that farmers can access the financial resources they need to adopt new practices. While regenerative ag has been shown to make farms more resilient and reduce inputs over time, up-front costs, learning curves, and early-year yield losses are real financial barriers to success.
Launching Our Government Incentive Programs Solution
Public programs like the USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) can pay some of the highest amounts for conservation efforts. But the application process can be time-consuming, and farmers don’t always have access to clear information about practices most likely to be funded.
In early 2024, we launched our first-of-its-kind solution accelerating farmers’ ability to apply for these funds. CIBO’s solution supports EQIP as well as other USDA-funded programs, including the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and Climate-Smart Commodities grant projects. Following the excitement from our partners, we expanded the solution to give users enhanced features and grow our geographic coverage to 19 U.S. states.
Expanding the Trusted Advisor Network
To reach farmers where they are, CIBO knew we needed to build relationships with partners they trusted. With that in mind, we expanded CIBO’s Trusted Advisor Network (formerly known as Grower Network Partners), reaching more than 100 million acres. These agronomists, retailers and co-ops bring invaluable local knowledge and insight, helping us ensure farmers have the right support when evaluating and applying for new conservation practices.
Thanks to these partnerships, CIBO successfully supported farmers throughout the corn belt in applying for EQIP funding, with more to follow in 2025. Together, we’re making it easier for farmers to access the financial support they need to make the transition to regenerative agriculture.
Unlocking the Power of Stacked Incentives
In the spring of 2024, CIBO announced the launch of our comprehensive solution for Scope 3 reporting and reduction. Our network of trusted advisors are a vital component of this offering, bringing value to both the farmers they serve and Scope 3 program sponsors.
Scope 3 sponsors are using the CIBO Impact platform to design and deploy their emissions-reduction programs, while our Trusted Advisor Network partners are using the platform to help farmers qualify and enroll in Scope 3 programs that can be combined with government incentives. Both farmers and Scope 3 sponsors benefit from farmers’ greater access to funding, streamlining the enrollment process and leading to even more significant environmental impacts.
Companies are also working with CIBO to deliver greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory baselining and reporting. This reporting helps them design their emissions-reduction strategies and aligns with voluntary standards, including Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) and the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).
By leveraging stacked incentives and a scaled platform, CIBO provides farmers with a choice and an opportunity to maximize their funding potential while helping Scope 3 sponsors meet their sustainability goals.
Partnerships that Drive Change
As we round out the year, we want to give another shout-out to the partners below whom you may have seen in the news with us in 2024. While we can’t thank every single one in this post, these are some of the organizations CIBO is working with who are doing the on-the-ground work to keep helping farmers across the U.S. shift to more sustainable agriculture. We’re thrilled to count these among our partners.
- Truterra: This year, thousands of Truterra farmers used the CIBO Impact platform to qualify their land for Truterra’s sustainability programs. The results: Nearly three million acres have been enrolled in Truterra sustainability programs, with hundreds of thousands of acres enrolled within just 24 hours of the most recent program launch. Learn more here.
- Anew Climate: Through our collaboration with Anew Climate, we’ve deployed the CIBO Impact platform for the Locus Agriculture CarbonNOW program. We’re giving CarbonNOW participants an automated and transparent enrollment, soil sampling planning, and reporting experience. CarbonNOW is the first U.S. carbon farming program to use biologicals as an approved practice change for carbon program participation. Read more here.
- The DeLong Co., Inc.: DeLong is a privately-owned and family-run enterprise based in Clinton, Wisconsin with 38 grain, agronomy and export locations throughout the United States. Through this collaboration, CIBO Impact helps farmers within DeLong’s grower network find, qualify for and enroll in regenerative ag incentive programs backed by the USDA and private companies with Scope 3 emissions targets. Read more here.
- Parcel Thrive Inc.: Parcel, a software platform serving over 14,000 farmers, co-ops and retailers, is working on behalf of its farmers to support contracting, delivery and end-to-end fulfillment of enrolled programs including programs backed by the USDA and private companies. This partnership will lead to increased near-term on-farm income through stackable incentives for farmers. More can be found here.
- Scoular: Scoular is a leading commodity and ingredient agribusiness. Working with CIBO, Scoular is providing farmers with robust data collection capabilities and modeling of emissions reduction outcomes for future regenerative agriculture and low-carbon-intensity (CI) crops. CIBO and Scoular are developing a solution to provide biofuel producers with the feedstocks needed to benefit from the Clean Fuel Production Credit (45Z). Read more here.
Farmers Are Ready—Is Your Company?
The evidence is clear: farmers are ready to embrace regenerative agriculture. With the right partnerships, financial incentives and technical support, they’re adopting practices that not only benefit their land and communities, but also help mitigate climate change.
Through our work with Truterra, Anew, DeLong, Parcel, Scoular and others, CIBO has been able to offer the technology and expertise needed to drive change in agriculture. With continued collaboration, we are excited to see the lasting impact that this year’s progress will have on the future of ag.
Is Your Company Ready to Take Part?
If you are a farmer-focused organization that wants to earn revenue while helping farmers apply for public and private programs using CIBO Impact, we invite you to get in touch about joining the CIBO Trusted Advisor Network.
If your company sources agricultural products, has Scope 3 emissions reduction goals, and needs a partner to help you report on and reduce your emissions, we want to hear from you! Contact us to start the conversation.
Last but not least – if you’re a farmer, thank you! For providing us with food, feed, fiber and fuel, and for being stewards of the land on which we all depend.
Wishing all of our readers a safe and happy 2025.
