CarbonNOW by Locus AG

CarbonNOW hones in on improved soil fertility with its soil probiotics and is a viable option for farmers who may not meet the practice change requirements of other carbon market programs.

About the program:

• Guaranteed $12 per acre with accruing performance bonuses
• No program fees
• Annual free soil testing
• Three to five years of historical management data required from farmers
• Four-year program cycle can be extended to 10 or more 1.32 million acres enrolled in the United States
• Continuous active enrollment

Program Differentiators

The program provides the financial benefit of paying 75% of the annual cash payment up front and the remaining 25% at the end of the year.

Use of Locus AG soil probiotics qualifies as a practice change and allows farmers who have been using regenerative ag practices for years to enroll. According to the company, soil probiotics can increase the amount of carbon sequestered per acre by two to three times.

"CarbonNOW is unique because this tool, this line of soil probiotics, allows for additional yield and additional carbon sequestration," says Travis Kraft, director of U.S. row crops for Locus AG. "We can push that envelope and get farmers paid more and earlier, with a quicker practice change and added co-benefits."

Carbon Farmer

"The main appeal of the CarbonNOW program with Locus AG was that I didn't have to change the way I was farming," says Mark Boston whose Greenfield, Illinois, farm includes a 50/50 mix of corn and soybeans, 300 acres of alfalfa, and a birth-to-butcher cattle operation. "I didn't have to buy different equipment, just add products to our program, which was a minimal investment and minimal change." Boston enrolled in CarbonNOW in 2022.

By the Numbers

CarbonNOW has distributed more than $1.2 million in carbon payments to more than 40 farmers.