How Indigo Ag enhanced market awareness of their regen ag project with a third-party assessment

What they said

First-of-its-kind quality reference for the entire regenerative agriculture sector
Rating broadened its audience, attracting previously unaware market actors
Third-party assessmentopened doors to ongoing conversations with buyers and investors

About Indigo Ag

Role in market: Project Developer
Location: United States
Sector: Soil Carbon & Agriculture
Project Type: Regenerative Agriculture

While we do not see eye-to-eye with the BeZero team on 100% of the rationale in the assessment, on the whole it was fair and well-reasoned. This is the reality of attempting to provide objective assessments in a space that will never be free of value judgements, scientific nuance, and complexity. Regardless, we thank BeZero for recognizing the importance of agricultural soils as a climate solution and using their platform to bring attention to the work being done by farmers across the US.

Max DuBuisson, Head of Impact & Integrity Indigo Ag

Challenge

Global food production accounts for an estimated 26% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. The reduction of emissions associated with food production represents a critical frontier in the fight against climate change. Incentivising farmers and ranchers to implement regenerative practices through carbon finance mechanisms can reduce these emissions as well as increase soil carbon sequestration. Until recently, most regenerative agriculture projects in both the pre- and post-issuance phase were not eligible for a BeZero Carbon Rating because of limited disclosure of project information. One project developer who faced such a challenge is Indigo Ag. Their aim is to help farmers in the US avoid emissions and sequester carbon by implementing regenerative farming activities, including changes in crop planting, tillage, and fertiliser application. Operating in a project class and under a new methodology comes with significant complexities due to farmer data sharing agreements that affected the project's eligibility for assessment. They needed to bridge the information gap between their sensitive project data, and what is publicly available in registries.

Rating

In June 2024, BeZero assigned credits issued by Indigo’s regenerative agricultural project a ‘BBB’ BeZero Carbon Rating, meaning a moderate likelihood of achieving 1 tonne of CO₂e removed. To get to this rating, BeZero's Data team examined the available project information and flagged missing data that could have impacted the project’s eligibility or our analysis. Because some of the missing information was sensitive, including specific farm locations and practices, BeZero worked with the developer to obtain semi-anonymised data for analytical purposes. Our Geospatial team leveraged satellite imagery over time to monitor regenerative practices such as cover cropping and natural hazards such as drought, inside and outside complex project boundaries. This helped our carbon ratings analysts with PhDs in Earth science, sustainable agriculture, and ecological risk assess risks to carbon efficacy across the myriad of project activities. The result was the industry’s first public ex post rating of a large-scale regenerative agriculture project.

Impact

This level of interdisciplinary knowledge and collaboration between experts in different fields provided the market with an independent, first-of-its-kind quality reference for the entire regenerative agriculture sector. As the largest project issuing credits in this space, Indigo Ag reported that the rating broadened its audience, attracting previously unaware market actors. The third-party assessment opened doors to ongoing conversations with buyers and investors, who appreciated the rating for informed decision making. Indigo Ag reported that BeZero’s rigorous methodology and open communication enhanced their understanding of project risks. Regenerative agriculture is rapidly expanding, and this rating marked a significant milestone in its emergence within carbon markets.

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