Indigo launches CCA accredited online learning series to further understanding of carbon farming

Indigo Ag, a company leveraging nature and technology to unlock economic and environmental progress in agriculture, debuted a continuing education series designed to increase access to high-quality information and accelerate adoption of carbon farming practices. The comprehensive online learning experience, Carbon College, is the latest step in the company's commitment to leverage science and its digital technology platform to equip the ag industry with the resources needed to enable farmers' success on every step of the carbon farming journey.

Approved by the American Society of Agronomy, the Carbon College curriculum leverages Indigo's insights as the leader in the ag-carbon market to help farmers and agronomists gain the orientation, practical skills, and industry-recognized credentials needed to make the most informed carbon farming decisions.

"Agricultural carbon markets are growing quickly, but it can be intimidating to know where to start with an integrated program, much less a new practice," said John Frederick, Global Head of Carbon Commercial Operations at Indigo Ag. "By providing independent and trustworthy guidance, we hope to take the confusion out of this process, reduce the barrier to entry for carbon farming, and support the development of the market toward long term success, which we define as maximized profitability outcomes for farmers."

Carbon College features self-paced 'bundles' — practical deep dives comprised of short educational videos and comprehension tests — that together cover the essentials of carbon farming. The first of these course bundles ("Learn the Landscape") is available publicly today to help inform 2022 planning decisions. It includes:

• "What is Carbon Farming?" which features insights from farmers' carbon farming experiences, from what first got them interested in practices that generate carbon credits and build soil health to the long-term benefits of these farming methods,

• "Carbon Markets & Ag," which outlines key terms and foundational components of carbon credits, carbon markets, and how both work in agriculture, and

• "Carbon Farming & Profitability," which dives into measuring farm success beyond yield, including the impact of carbon farming practices on profitability.

Agronomists who complete the inaugural bundle can earn one free Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) continuing education credit (CEU) toward their credential requirements. Additional bundles, which will be released in the following weeks, will offer the opportunity to earn further CCA CEUs with courses focused on specific practice implementation guidance, strategies for identifying and measuring progress toward success, and what to expect from participating in a carbon farming program. Indigo certifies the agronomists who successfully complete the full Carbon College curriculum with a Carbon Farming Principles certification.

"As we're getting into carbon farming, there are lots of questions. Indigo has been essential among our pool of resources to help inform what decision to take at what time, and what the impacts of that will be in terms of the soil organic carbon we can sequester," said Will Drucker, a rye and soy grower based in Northwest Illinois. "We're always looking for informed sources to help us on our journey of systematically building soil health and Indigo has been very helpful, pointing us in the right direction of doing exactly that."

Carbon College is the latest of Indigo's efforts to help lead the development of the ag carbon market to maximize long term success for farmers. The company's Carbon by Indigo program is the only program working to generate high-quality, registry issued agricultural carbon credits at scale. Central to its approach is an emphasis on meeting the needs of farmers through industry partnerships, scientific investment, and enabling informed decision-making through learning resources, agronomic tools, and community-building efforts.

In support of this farmer-first approach, Indigo also today confirmed a reprisal of Carbon Farming Connection following the success of the inaugural event this past June. The virtual event, which brought together farmers with private industry and scientific experts with a goal of supporting the development of a robust global market for agricultural carbon credits, will again convene stakeholders across the ag carbon ecosystem on Thursday, January 13, 2022, to discuss the growing demand and value of agricultural carbon credits.

The January event, which returns with an expanded focus on the science, technology, and policy forces shaping ag carbon markets, will highlight the first farmers to generate payments for their carbon farming efforts at scale, spotlight ag industry collaborators like Corteva and GROWMARK, feature carbon credit buyers and more. Confirmed guests include notable return marquee speaker Paul Hawken, business strategist and author, as well as special guest, Chip Flory, Farm Journal economist and host of AgriTalk.

More information about Carbon Farming Connection can be found here, alongside recorded soil health and profitability strategy webinars geared to those considering the near and long-term benefits of enrolling in a carbon program.

To get started with Carbon College, click here.