Enrollment opens this month for Cargill RegenConnect, a voluntary market-based regenerative agriculture program offering producers a way to access the carbon marketplace.
For the 2022-23 crop season, Cargill has expanded grower eligibility to 15 states, including: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Kentucky, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Cargill will once again offer one-crop-year contracts to producer customers in eligible states to sequester carbon through implementation of new or expanded regenerative agriculture practices such as cover crops, no-till or reduced-till. Eligible acres must have a primary crop of corn, soy or wheat. Farmers can choose the practices that are best suited to their operation’s unique growing conditions. For the 2022-23 enrollment, Cargill will offer $25 per metric ton of carbon sequestered per acre.
Carbon sequestration achieved through RegenConnect will contribute to Cargill’s scope 3 climate commitment and may also help the company’s downstream customers achieve their voluntary carbon reduction goals. Cargill aims to have 10 million acres enrolled in sustainable and regenerative farming programs by 2030.
Farmers can enroll in the 2022-23 RegenConnect program online starting in mid-May or via their Cargill representative. Cargill has expanded its team of conservation agronomists to offer technical support for implementing regenerative practices. Cargill has also added support to its grain origination team.
The program’s digital platform is powered by carbon measurement firm Regrow and uses the soil carbon model DNDC (DeNitrification-DeComposition). The program incorporates weather, soil management and environmental conditions that allows farmers to model the soil’s response to practice changes and estimate quantified carbon outcomes. Enrollees can also track management practices for each of their fields and crops. Management practices for each field can be imported from compatible farm management systems or identified with remote sensing technology. The Regrow platform is intended to furnish secure data collection and provide measurement and verification options for farmers.
