This World Soil Day, we celebrate the incredible role that soil plays in creating a sustainable future. At Indigo Ag, we are proud to recognize the impact farmers are making through practices that improve soil health, combat climate change, and conserve natural resources.
Minimizing disturbance, keeping soil covered, maintaining continuous living plants or roots in the soil, and increasing plant diversity are well known ways to increase soil organic carbon. Pairing practices that accomplish these goals with innovative technology to measure, report, and verify what is happening underground is catalyzing healthier soils across the globe.
Since the inception of our Carbon by Indigo and Source by Indigo programs, we’ve helped farmers across 7 million acres improve soil health and achieve remarkable milestones:
- Reduced or sequestered more than 350,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (in CO2e).
- Conserved more than 68 billion gallons of water that reduce runoff or irrigation water use.
By improving the health of our soils, we improve the health of our planet and build resilience of rural farming communities.
Sustainability Programs Improve Soil Health
Healthy soil is essential to life - supporting biodiversity, enhancing water use and quality, sequestering carbon, and sustaining agricultural production. Farmers who adopt regenerative practices such as reduced tillage, cover crops, and diverse crop rotations will achieve healthier soils, better yields, and lower input costs while also fighting climate change. These practices have been proven to reduce farm emissions, draw down carbon dioxide, and build carbon content in the soil. Agricultural soils act as a powerful sink that according to the IPCC could be sequestering over 3 GT carbon dioxide equivalents per year. Indigo's programs support and reward farmers for using more sustainable practices that build soil carbon.
Together, these programs are catalyzing adoption of regenerative practices and transforming agriculture into an immediate, scalable, and credible climate solution. With 2030 just 5 years away, our society has an urgent need to mitigate climate change, through both the abatement of emissions and the removal of atmospheric carbon. Carbon sequestration in agricultural soils represents an immediately available solution to meet this urgent call for removals.
The benefits of healthy soils are amplified with biotrinsic® biological solutions, which harness the power of nature to enhance plant resilience.
- Drought and water stress support: Our biologicals strengthen plants' ability to thrive under challenging conditions, helping reduce the yield impact of an overabundance or shortage of water.
- Disease and pest stress support: Indigo’s proprietary biopesticides and bionematicides help combat the effects of seedling diseases and harmful nematodes on crop performance.
- Improved nutrient uptake: By introducing beneficial microbes, biotrinsic® increases nutrient efficiency, helping reduce dependence on synthetic fertilizers.
These products complement sustainable practices by helping growers maximize the potential of their soil while addressing agronomic, climate, and environmental challenges.
Farmers leading the way
We can’t build healthier soils without farmers. Today, we celebrate the farmers that are leading the movement. Here are some inspiring examples of how farmers are making a difference:
Location: North Dakota, USA
Impact: Reduced tillage, cover crops, and diverse crop rotation practices have helped Paul reduce costs, increase yields, and improve soil health. Paul is also earning income through carbon credits.
Location: North Dakota, USA
Impact: Roger’s cover crops didn’t just improve his soil; they gave him his best yields in years—topping his entire county and six others in North Dakota. He shared, “That’s the miracle of taking care of the soil. Soil abundantly gives back when it’s fed by nature."
Location: Arkansas, USA
Impact: Chad used biotrinsic® on his soybeans that were planted on poor soil. The results were clear: He saw healthier plants and the highest yields he had ever seen on that ground.
Location: Manisa, Türkiye
Impact: Even in areas of high rainfall, cotton fields treated with biotrinsic® did not suffer from water stress, while untreated neighboring fields did not emerge at all.
The Road Ahead
Every practice that improves soil health brings us closer to a sustainable future. By conserving water, reducing emissions, and fostering resilient crops, farmers are proving that agriculture is a powerful tool in tackling climate change.
Celebrate World Soil Day with Indigo Ag
This World Soil Day, let’s commit to supporting practices that benefit farmers, consumers, and the planet. Here’s how you can join the movement:
The health of our soil is the health of our planet. Together, through innovative solutions, proven regenerative practices, and strong incentives, we can create a thriving agricultural system that combats climate change, conserves resources, and secures the future of our food system.
Read these blogs to learn more about soil health:
“Can Regenerative Agriculture Build Meaningful Amounts of Carbon in the Soil” Learn about how program design features can advance make soil carbon as a high-integrity climate solution
"How Can I Build Soil Health?" Explore practical steps and strategies for enhancing soil health on your farm.
"Is This the Future of Soil Carbon Analysis?" Learn about innovative methods for analyzing soil carbon and their implications for soil health.
"Why Calibration and Validation Are Critical in Soil Carbon Models" Understand the importance of accurate modeling in assessing soil carbon and health.