# Carbon farming Programs and marketplaces that pay farmers for verified soil carbon sequestration through regenerative practices — after the 2024 voluntary-carbon-market shakeout (Nori shutdown), survivors (Truterra, Agreena, Soil Capital, CIBO) scale via corporate Scope-3 supply-chain deals and MRV platforms. Source: https://en.bioecon.ru/technology/carbon-farming/ Updated: 2026-08-18 ## Overview and value chain Markers: [EC: EU Carbon Farming Initiative & CAP carbon credits | OECD: Agricultural Biotechnology | Regulator: Verra/Gold Standard voluntary standards, USDA, MoA] Carbon farming pays farmers for verified soil carbon sequestration through regenerative practices — cover crops, no-till and crop rotation. The voluntary-carbon-market shakeout hit the sector in 2024, when Nori (Seattle) halted its soil-sequestration carbon marketplace citing a stagnant voluntary market and funding headwinds. Surviving programs now scale via corporate Scope-3 supply-chain deals: Truterra (a Land O'Lakes unit) has paid farmers about $21 million for over 1 million metric tons of sequestered carbon; Agreena's AgreenaCarbon project funds regenerative agriculture across more than 4.5 million hectares in Europe; Soil Capital runs Europe's first certified agricultural carbon payment programme with over 1,800 farmers; and CIBO's data and analytics platform powers Nutrien's MRV. This article covers the credit-program and marketplace layer; the soil-carbon measurement tech is in soil carbon MRV (IND-096). The key directions of carbon farming are: 1. **Carbon-credit marketplaces & programs (Carbon-Credit Marketplaces & Programs):** platforms (Truterra, Agreena, Soil Capital) paying farmers for verified soil carbon sequestration. 2. **Regenerative practice adoption (Regenerative Practice Adoption):** cover crops, no-till and rotation supported by CIBO and Truterra platforms for credit eligibility. 3. **Corporate Scope-3 supply-chain deals (Corporate Scope-3 Supply-Chain Deals):** food corporates (Nestlé with Soil Capital) buying farm credits to cut supply-chain emissions. 4. **Soil-carbon science & standards (Soil-Carbon Science & Standards):** long-term SOC research (Soil Health Institute) underpinning credit integrity. ### Sectoral value chain ``` [regen practice adoption] ──> [MRV measurement] ──> [credit issuance] ──> [marketplace / corporate sale] │ (pay farmers for sequestration) │ ▼ [verification & standards] <─── [farmer payment] <─────┘ ``` ### Value chain levels | Level | Description | Key inputs/outputs | |:---|:---|:---| | **Practice Adoption** | farmers adopt cover crops, no-till, rotation for credit eligibility | **In:** land, practices, platform. **Out:** enrolled acres. | | **MRV Measurement** | measure and model soil carbon change (sampling, remote sensing) | **In:** soil samples, models. **Out:** sequestration tonnes. | | **Credit Issuance** | verify and register credits under a standard (Verra, Gold Standard) | **In:** sequestration data. **Out:** issued carbon credits. | | **Marketplace / Corporate Sale** | sell credits via marketplace or corporate Scope-3 deal | **In:** issued credits, buyers. **Out:** credit sales. | | **Farmer Payment** | pay farmers their share of credit revenue | **In:** credit revenue. **Out:** farmer payout. | | **Verification & Standards** | audit and standardize credit integrity | **In:** audit data. **Out:** verified credits + standards. | Cross-cutting technologies of the sector: - **Regenerative carbon practices (Regenerative Carbon Practices):** cover crops, no-till and rotation that build soil organic carbon while maintaining yields. - **MRV data & analytics platforms (MRV Data & Analytics Platforms):** independent data platforms (CIBO) modeling soil carbon change for credit eligibility. - **Voluntary carbon standards (Voluntary Carbon Standards):** Verra and Gold Standard frameworks that verify and register soil-carbon credits. --- ## US The US carbon-farming market blends farmer-cooperative programs, MRV platforms and soil-carbon science, against the 2024 marketplace shakeout. ### Truterra program, CIBO MRV, Soil Health Institute, Nori shakeout - **Truterra:** a Land O'Lakes unit that has paid farmers about $21 million for sequestering more than 1 million metric tons of carbon since launch three years ago, scaling via food-company supply-chain deals. - **CIBO Technologies:** its independent data and analytics platform powers measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) for Nutrien's sustainable agriculture programs across the Midwest (collaboration announced February 2026). - **Soil Health Institute:** publishes long-term research (e.g., 19-year no-till soil-organic-carbon studies) underpinning the science of soil-carbon credit integrity. - **The shakeout:** Nori halted its soil-sequestration carbon marketplace in 2024, citing a stagnant voluntary carbon market and funding headwinds — a cautionary signal for the marketplace model. --- ## CN China's agricultural carbon-sink market is policy-led, with government pilots exploring farm-sector carbon credits. ### agricultural carbon-sink pilots, policy framework, MoA - **农业碳汇 (agricultural carbon sink) market:** industry analyses track the development potential and policy environment for China's agricultural carbon-sink credits, driven by national carbon-neutrality goals. - **Policy framework:** government pilots explore farm-sector carbon-credit generation, framed by the Ministry of Agriculture's rural-revitalization and carbon-neutrality programs. --- ## EU Europe leads in certified carbon-payment programmes and large-scale soil-carbon projects under the EU Carbon Farming Initiative. ### AgreenaCarbon, Soil Capital certified programme, EU Carbon Farming Initiative - **Agreena (Denmark):** the AgreenaCarbon project — described as the first large-scale soil carbon project — funds regenerative agriculture across more than 4.5 million hectares in Europe, generating upfront capital for thousands of farmers via carbon-credit sales. - **Soil Capital (France):** runs Europe's first certified agricultural carbon payment programme, rewarding over 1,800 farmers (France 1,413; Belgium 183; UK 274) for regenerative practices, with a Nestlé deal highlighting regen-ag's role in corporate Scope-3 supply chains. - **EU Carbon Farming Initiative:** the EU framework and CAP carbon-credit mechanisms frame the route to market for European soil-carbon credits. --- ## Leading companies and research institutes | Company / Institute | Country | Key products / platforms | Tech features | Status 2026 | |:---|:---|:---|:---|:---| | **Truterra** | 🇺🇸 USA | *Land O'Lakes carbon program* | ~$21M paid, >1M t CO2 sequestered, food-corp deals | Commercial | | **CIBO Technologies** | 🇺🇸 USA | *MRV data & analytics platform* | powers Nutrien sustainable-ag MRV (Feb 2026) | Commercial | | **Agreena** | 🇩🇰 Denmark | *AgreenaCarbon project* | first large-scale soil-C project, >4.5M ha Europe | Commercial | | **Soil Capital** | 🇫🇷 France | *certified carbon payment programme* | 1,800+ farmers (FR/BE/UK), Nestlé Scope-3 deal | Commercial | | **Soil Health Institute** | 🇺🇸 USA | *soil-carbon science* | long-term SOC research (19-yr no-till studies) | Research | --- ## Tech stack and innovations The stack pairs credit programs and MRV platforms with soil-carbon science. 1. **Carbon-credit marketplaces and programs (Carbon-Credit Marketplaces & Programs):** - Truterra has paid farmers about $21 million for over 1 million metric tons of sequestered carbon via food-company supply-chain deals. - Soil Capital's certified programme rewards 1,800+ farmers across France, Belgium and the UK, with a Nestlé deal showing the corporate Scope-3 pull. 2. **MRV data and analytics platforms (MRV Data & Analytics Platforms):** - CIBO's independent platform models soil-carbon change for credit eligibility and now powers Nutrien's sustainable-agriculture MRV across the Midwest. - Agreena's AgreenaCarbon combines MRV with upfront farmer financing across more than 4.5 million hectares. 3. **Soil-carbon science and standards (Soil-Carbon Science & Standards):** - The Soil Health Institute's long-term research (e.g., 19-year no-till soil-organic-carbon studies) underpins credit integrity. - Voluntary standards (Verra, Gold Standard) and the EU Carbon Farming Initiative frame verification and registration. --- ## Value chains and production pipelines ### Industrial pipeline of a carbon-farming credit (Verra / Gold Standard / EU Carbon Farming Initiative) ``` ┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ 1. Practice adoption │ ───> │ 2. MRV measurement │ └───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘ │ ▼ ┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ 4. Marketplace / corp sale│ <─── │ 3. Credit issuance │ └───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘ │ ▼ ┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ 5. Farmer payment │ ───> │ 6. Verification & standards│ └───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘ ``` #### Stage 1: Practice adoption Farmers enroll acres and adopt cover crops, no-till and rotation via a platform (CIBO, Truterra) for credit eligibility; the output is enrolled, regeneratively-managed acres. #### Stage 2: MRV measurement Soil-carbon change is measured and modeled (sampling, remote sensing, CIBO's analytics platform); the output is a sequestration-tonnage estimate. #### Stage 3: Credit issuance Sequestration data is verified and registered as carbon credits under a standard (Verra, Gold Standard); the output is issued soil-carbon credits. #### Stage 4: Marketplace / corporate sale Credits are sold via a marketplace or — increasingly — direct corporate Scope-3 deals (Soil Capital–Nestlé, Truterra–food companies); the output is credit sales. #### Stage 5: Farmer payment Farmers receive their share of credit revenue (Truterra's ~$21 million paid to date); the output is farmer payout and retention. #### Stage 6: Verification & standards Credit integrity is audited against voluntary standards and the EU Carbon Farming Initiative, with Soil Health Institute science underpinning the measurement basis; the output is verified, standardized credits.