Soil and Water Outcomes Fund

What Soil and Water Outcomes Fund does

Soil and Water Outcomes Fund (SWOF) is a private outcomes-based conservation agriculture program founded in 2020 and managed by AgOutcomes, Inc., a subsidiary of the Iowa Soybean Association. The company aggregates verified environmental outcomes — carbon sequestration, greenhouse-gas emission reductions, and reductions in nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from row-crop acres — generated through on-farm conservation practices such as cover crops, reduced tillage, no-till, strip-till, and extended crop rotations. Its core product is a Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system combining soil sampling, cover-crop and residue-cover ratings, geo-tagged field photography, third-party verification, and April-to-September tile-drainage water sampling for nitrate and phosphorus concentrations; this MRV layer underwrites the outcomes that SWOF transacts to buyers.

SWOF operates as an outcome-intermediary: farmers enroll through a web portal (enroll.theoutcomesfund.com), receive per-acre payment offers based on 3-5 years of historical and projected farm management data, are paid in two installments (25% prior to verification and 75% post-verification), and the resulting stacked environmental outcomes are sold to public and private buyers pursuing scope-3 carbon insets, water-quality credits, and ESG-aligned sustainability claims. The 2023 average farmer payout was $33 per acre, with cumulative farmer payments exceeding $55 million across 1.7 million enrolled acres since 2020, 1.4 million metric tons of sequestered greenhouse gases, 13.3M lbs of nitrogen prevented from leaving fields, and 888K lbs of phosphorus prevented. Enrolled acreage spans 28 states across the Midwest and southern U.S., with operations also extending to Ontario, Canada.

The go-to-market combines the direct-enrollment portal, a 21-person field-representative network across program geographies, a referral partner program for seed companies, agronomists, ag services, and conservation districts, and enterprise buyer relationships with PepsiCo (including the RegenLend strip-till equipment leasing pilot with Compeer Financial and EDF), Mars Incorporated (targeting 150,000 acres of regenerative transition across its North American pet-food supply chain via Royal Canin), ADM (100,000+ acres), The Andersons (30,000 acres across corn in Nebraska/Ohio/Michigan/Ontario), Riceland Foods (10,000+ rice acres), Chevron Renewable Energy Group (climate-smart agriculture support), and the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol (U.S. Climate Smart Cotton Program). Headquarters functions are operated out of Iowa under AgOutcomes/Iowa Soybean Association oversight, with ReHarvest Partners (Quantified Ventures subsidiary) having co-founded the program.

Name

Soil and Water Outcomes Fund

Legal name

Soil and Water Outcomes Fund

Website

https://theoutcomesfund.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Soil and Water Outcomes Fund is a private outcomes-based conservation agriculture program, founded in 2020 and operated by AgOutcomes (an Iowa Soybean Association subsidiary), that pays farmers for verified carbon, greenhouse-gas, and water-quality outcomes and sells stacked outcomes to corporate and public buyers across 28 U.S. states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Conservation Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Crop Production (11511)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Regenerative Agriculture & Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) (EUABABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Climate-Smart Farming & GHG Reduction (Emissions Accounting, Methane/N2O Reduction Practices) (AFAGAMAH), Results-Based Financing (RBF) & Performance-Based Grants (BPADAOAF), Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) Program Development & Administration (AFAMAMAF)

Keywords

• Conservation agriculture programs
• Environmental outcome payments
• Carbon inset services
• Water quality trading
• Regenerative agriculture finance

Headquarters

HQ city

Ankeny

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Others, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Environmental Outcome Sales: SWOF generates revenue by aggregating verified environmental outcomes (carbon sequestration, water quality improvements, emission reductions) from enrolled farmers and transacting these outcomes to public and private buyers seeking to achieve sustainability goals and scope 3 carbon insets.
2. Farmer Incentive Payments: Payments to farmers are made in two installments: 25% prior to verification and 75% after environmental outcomes are measured and verified. Average payment was $33 per acre in 2023/2024. Total payments of $55M+ made to farmers since 2020.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Soil and Water Outcomes Fund (SWOF) is an outcomes-based conservation program that pays farmers to begin or expand on-farm conservation practices (cover crops, reduced tillage, extended crop rotations) that generate verified environmental outcomes such as carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emission reductions, and water quality improvements (nitrogen and phosphorus runoff). SWOF aggregates these verified outcomes and transacts them to public and private buyers seeking to meet scope 3 carbon inset and sustainability goals.

Product overview

The Soil and Water Outcomes Fund (SWOF) operates as a single, unified conservation agriculture program managed by AgOutcomes, a subsidiary of the Iowa Soybean Association. The core offering consists of an outcomes-based financial incentive program where farmers receive payments for implementing conservation practices that generate verified environmental outcomes. The program is delivered through a farmer-facing web enrollment portal and supported by a field representative network that provides agronomic guidance and conducts Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) visits. Supporting offerings include a Referral Partner Program for agricultural service providers and the RegenLend strip-till equipment financing program. Farmers earn average payments of $33 per acre with one-year contracts and no acreage caps.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Soil and Water Outcomes Fund (SWOF) Program An outcomes-based conservation program providing financial incentives directly to farmers who begin or expand on-farm conservation practices that yield verified positive environmental outcomes including carbon sequestration, emission reductions, and water quality improvement.
• Farmer Enrollment Platform A web-based portal where farmers create accounts, map field boundaries, enter baseline and projected cropping system information (3-5 years of historical/projected farm management data), and receive per-acre payment estimates. Supports a multi-step enrollment process from account creation through outcome verification and payment.
• Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) A verification service that monitors key indicators including soil organic carbon levels, cover crop ratings, percent of residue cover, and nitrogen/phosphorus losses through tile drainage. Field representatives visit enrolled fields to confirm practice implementation and collect geo-tagged photographs; water sampling is conducted on a subset of fields from April to September through tile outlet sampling with flow measurement.
• Conservation Practice Financial Incentives Outcome-based payment program offering farmers compensation for verified environmental outcomes generated through conservation practices. In 2023, participating farmers received an average payment of $33 per acre. Payments are distributed in two installments: 25% paid prior to verification and 75% paid after verification.
• SWOF Referral Partner Program A partnership program enabling agricultural service providers, seed companies, agronomists, and conservation districts to connect farmers with SWOF enrollment. Partners receive training, unique enrollment links, account access, and agronomic support from SWOF field representatives.
• RegenLend Strip-Till Financing Program A pilot equipment financing program that helps farmers acquire strip-till equipment through leasing arrangements. PepsiCo covers two annual lease payments to reduce farmers' upfront costs, supporting adoption of conservation farming practices.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.4M metric tons of greenhouse gases sequestered
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AgOutcomescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSWOF is managed by AgOutcomes, a subsidiary of the Iowa Soybean Association. AgOutcomes works to build environmental and economic sustainability in agriculture by creating outcome-based partnerships to support farmers. The Iowa Soybean Association was founded in 1964 and is governed by a board of 22 farmers.
• ReHarvest Partners / Quantified VenturesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReHarvest Partners, a subsidiary of Quantified Ventures, was an original cofounder of the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund.
• Environmental Defense FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEDF aided in program development for RegenLend and other SWOF initiatives. EDF collaborates with SWOF to help farmers adopt soil conservation practices that yield positive environmental outcomes.
• Compeer FinancialcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompeer Financial launched RegenLend, a pilot leasing program for strip-till equipment, in partnership with PepsiCo. SWOF serves as operational partner managing the program to help farmers finance specialized conservation equipment.
• PepsiCocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPepsiCo covers two annual lease payments for strip-till equipment under RegenLend program to reduce farmers' upfront costs while improving soil health, water retention, and erosion control across the agricultural supply chain.
• Mars Incorporated / Royal CanincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMars partnered with SWOF to support regenerative agriculture transition across its North American pet food supply chain. SWOF provides financial incentives to farmers implementing conservation practices including reduced tillage, cover crops, extended crop rotations, and fertilization management. Partnership includes 10,000-acre pilot in 2024.
• ADMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerADM partnership aims to promote practices such as reduced tillage and cover crops on 100,000+ acres in 2024, supporting outcomes like reduced fertilizer use and improved carbon footprint through outcome-based farming.
• The AndersonscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Andersons corn procurement program supports farmers across Nebraska, Ohio, Michigan and Ontario, Canada with investments from Mars Petcare to assist in enrolling farmers, providing technical support and reporting on key metrics.
• Riceland FoodscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRiceland Foods partnership through Riceland Carbon Ready program supports rice farmers with sustainable on-farm practices. Collaboration with Arva Intelligence helps farmer-members implement and maintain conservation practices.
• U.S. Cotton Trust ProtocolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSWOF provides MRV and tracks environmental outcomes of conservation practices for cotton farmers through U.S. Climate Smart Commodities funding. SWOF is contracted to provide technology platform and data entry support for cotton farmers across the cotton belt.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CIBO Technologies: CIBO Technologies provides a regenerative agriculture and carbon credit platform that combines remote-sensing MRV with farmer payments and enterprise sales. Comparable to SWOF in outcomes aggregation and corporate scope 3 offerings.
• Bayer Carbon Program / ForGround: Bayer's ForGround platform enrolls farmers in carbon and regenerative ag programs, selling verified outcomes to enterprise buyers. Direct overlap with SWOF in farmer-facing enrollment, MRV, and corporate buyer transactions.
• Indigo Ag: Indigo Ag operates one of the largest agricultural carbon and sustainability programs, paying farmers for verified soil carbon and scope 3 outcomes. Directly comparable to SWOF in buyer model, farmer aggregation, and MRV-driven outcomes sales to enterprises like Bayer, ADM, and Barclays.
• Regrow Ag: Regrow provides MRV and outcome-based sustainability tools used by food and ag companies to monitor and quantify regenerative practices in their supply chains. Comparable to SWOF's MRV backbone and buyer-focused outcomes delivery, often as a technology partner.
• Truterra (Land O'Lakes): Truterra is the sustainability and ag outcomes arm of Land O'Lakes, offering a farmer network, MRV, and buyer match-making for carbon and water quality outcomes. Comparable to SWOF in cooperative structure, farmer network, and outcomes-based payment model.

Emerging players

• Pachama / Patch: Patch (formerly Pachama) operates a carbon credit marketplace that includes soil-based agricultural removals. Comparable to SWOF on the buyer side of the equation but offers less direct farmer engagement and MRV.
• Nori: Nori operates a soil carbon marketplace connecting farmers to corporate buyers of carbon removals. Comparable in the carbon credit side of SWOF's model but lacks SWOF's water-quality stacking and farmer-services orientation.
• Boomitra: Boomitra is a soil carbon marketplace using remote sensing and AI-based MRV to pay farmers globally. Comparable to SWOF on the carbon credit mechanism and farmer payment model, with a different geographic footprint.
• Agreena: Agreena runs a European-focused regenerative agriculture carbon program with farmer payments and verified credit issuance. Similar outcomes-based model to SWOF; comparable in mechanics but regional rather than U.S.-focused.

Broad incumbents

• Corteva Agriscience (Carbon & Sustainability): Corteva has invested in agricultural carbon and sustainability programs through collaborations and its seed-and-input business. Overlaps with SWOF in regenerative agriculture outcomes but operates at a broader, integrated seed/agrochemical scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OutcomesFund
• Facebookfacebook.com/outcomesfund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/soil-and-water-outcomes-fund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Soil and Water Outcomes Fund