Cargill RegenConnect

Cargill's pilot program exceeded expectations. Cargill RegenConnect is now available in 24 states throughout the Corn Belt.

About the program:

• No minimum field size
• Requires additional practices of reduced tillage or cover crops
• Eligibility based on 12-month look-back
• One-year contracts, with easy renewals
• Pays up to $35 per metric ton of carbon sequestered
• Payouts made in two tranches
• Partnered with Regrow for data verification

Program Differentiators

Cargill RegenConnect's one-year contract and ease of enrollment make it a simple program for farmers. Cargill's position in the global market also lends itself to consistent and reliable carbon credit buyers.

"We do business and sell grain commodities to all kinds of food, fiber, and fuel industry companies," says Clay Edwards, sustainability program lead for Cargill RegenConnect.

"Those companies are coming to us, looking for environmental outcome solutions and they want to buy credits from something that already feeds their supply chain. We feel the ability to connect farmers and demand customers through our supply chain has the potential to advance inset credits much faster than other markets would."

Carbon Farmer

"No-till [and] cover crops protect the ground and it makes carbon," says Steven Flaig, Montezuma, Indiana, corn and soybean farmer who uses reduced tillage and cover crops. "Carbon improves soil health. So when you can get a little money, that's why we went with it. But the main reason was to protect the soil."

By the Numbers

As the Cargill RegenConnect portfolio grows, a multitude of programs will exist under it. For example, cotton producers can now participate in the carbon program, and Cargill RegenConnect launched a regeneratively sourced cotton bale option last year.