Indigo Ag's plan to compensate farmers for carbon removal is attracting big name funders

By Owen Poindexter - GreenBiz Group

US - There’s an old saying that you get what you pay for when it comes to things that separate you from the ground, such as shoes, tires and beds. The same is true for what comes out of the ground, and when it comes to the American agricultural industry, that’s a problem, because the large majority of farmers are paid for quantity, not quality.

While certain labels, namely "organic," allow farmers to charge a premium to a niche market, there is no inherent bonus to farms for following most pro-climate practices, such as planting cover crop. That’s an issue for the climate, but also a failure of the market.

Although it’s likely that many consumers and businesses across the food supply chain would pay for better quality and sustainability, in many regions this is impossible to do at scale. To change farming practices, the basic financial incentives have to shift. Easier said than done, but agricultural startup Indigo Ag is putting some unique ideas into practice, and it recently received $200 million in funding, most notably from FedEx, to expand its work.

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