ANKENY, Iowa (Feb. 16, 2024) — The Soil and Water Outcomes Fund, an agricultural ecosystem services program, more than doubled farmer participation in 2023, enrolling over 300,000 acres of cropland across 14 states. This is a substantial leap from the 126,000 acres the program enrolled across 6 states in 2022.
Through public and private partnerships, the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund paid more than $10.5 million to farmers for the environmental outcomes resulting from new or expanded conservation practices. Farmers enrolled in the program implemented conservation practices such as reduced tillage, cover crops, extended crop rotations and fertilization management to improve soil health and reduce erosion. The average farmer payment per acre in 2023 was $33.
These practice changes during 2023 resulted in over 250,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions and removals, over 2.8 million pounds of nitrogen runoff reduction and over 150,000 pounds of phosphorus runoff reduction. This is equivalent to removing over 55,600 cars from the road for a year.
Dan Glandorf, an Iowa farmer and participant in the program shared, “Soil health is the number one priority here. Everything we farm, whether we own it or rent it, we want to improve the ground for the next generation. I chose this program because I liked the way it was designed and set up, but the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund is also easy to work with. No hiccups whatsoever.”
The Soil and Water Outcomes Fund attributes this success to its unique program design and farmer support, with over 92% of participating farmers re-enrolling from 2022 to 2023.
"This milestone exemplifies the transformative impact of the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund (SWOF), showcasing our success in cultivating positive environmental changes. Through our commitment to farmer support, flexible contract terms and a competitive payment structure, SWOF is building trusted partnerships with farmers and leading the way towards a sustainable agricultural future,” said Adam Kiel, co-managing director of the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund.
The USDA and several private companies, including PepsiCo, Cargill, Ingredion, Target, Bartlett Grain, Kent Corporation, Lifeline Foods, The Anderson’s, Coca-Cola and others, have partnered with the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund to catalyze farmer adoption of conservation practices that generate verifiable carbon reductions and water quality improvements.
“The Soil and Water Outcomes Fund has played a key role in helping PepsiCo advance its regenerative agriculture and climate goals. As we celebrate the progress we made together in 2023, we look forward to further collaboration and expansion of our efforts in 2024,” said Alex Hohlbein, PepsiCo’s US Regenerative Agriculture Lead.
The organization will open its 2024 enrollment season to new farmers in March. Additional geographic areas of eligibility will also be announced. Farmers or landowners interested in enrolling in the program can visit the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund website, theoutcomesfund.com, to learn more about the program and add their name to an interested list. Farmers can also send inquiries to contactus@theoutcomesfund.com.
