The useful question is what changes for users, developers or buyers, and whether the announcement stays industry context or becomes something people can actually use.

Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Brian Baldridge and Indigo Ag announced a partnership to offer additional financial support to farmers already enrolled in H2Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine’s statewide water-quality initiative. The collaboration will help offset costs for farmers adopting best management practices aimed at reducing nutrient runoff and improving soil health. Indigo Ag will verify practices and convert verified soil carbon into credits sold to corporate buyers, generating payments for participating farmers. The initiative builds on H2Ohio’s existing program, which has enrolled more than 3,200 farmers in conservation measures since its 2019 launch.

Honda, which operates its Marysville Auto Plant in Ohio, is purchasing soil carbon credits through the program as part of its broader decarbonization efforts. The company stated the partnership aligns with its commitment to local communities and environmental stewardship. Farmers receive direct payments for practices such as cover cropping and reduced tillage, which also sequester carbon and improve water quality. The arrangement rewards ongoing conservation while creating a sustainable funding mechanism for regenerative agriculture in Ohio.

The partnership reflects a broader trend of public-private collaboration under H2Ohio, which uses science-based strategies to address algal blooms and nutrient pollution in Ohio’s waters. Indigo Ag’s role includes verifying soil carbon sequestration and facilitating credit sales to corporate partners like Honda. Russell Booth, Indigo Ag’s Ecosystems Development Manager, emphasized the importance of combining resources and innovation to drive meaningful conservation outcomes. The initiative aims to strengthen soil health, watershed resilience, and farm productivity across Ohio.

Indigo Ag operates the Carbon by Indigo program through its subsidiary Indigo Carbon PBC, leveraging a science-based platform to measure and monetize soil carbon removal. Since 2018, the program has facilitated payments to farmers totaling tens of millions of dollars while removing more than two million metric tons of carbon from U.S. croplands. The new Ohio partnership expands this model, offering farmers an additional revenue stream while advancing H2Ohio’s conservation goals through verified regenerative practices.