Human beings may or may not have a lot in their arsenal, but they surely don’t have anything more significant than that tendency to grow under all circumstances. This tendency, in particular, has brought the world some huge milestones, with technology emerging as quite a major member of the stated group. The reason why we hold technology in such a high regard is, by and large, predicated upon its skill-set, which ushered us towards a reality that nobody could have ever imagined otherwise. Nevertheless, if we look beyond the surface for one hot second, it will become abundantly clear how the whole runner was also very much inspired from the way we applied those skills across a real world environment. The latter component, in fact, did a lot to give the creation a spectrum-wide presence, and as a result, initiated a full-blown tech revolution. Of course, the next thing this revolution did was to scale up the human experience through some outright unique avenues, but even after achieving a feat so notable, technology will somehow continue to bring forth the right goods. The same has turned more and more evident in recent times, and assuming one new development ends up with desired impact, it will only put that trend on a higher pedestal moving forward.
CIBO Technologies, the company powering the transition to sustainable agriculture, has officially announced wider availability for its USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) conservation programs solution. Designed to empower grower-focused organizations in helping their customers easily apply for USDA programs, the stated development comes at the heels of a landmark 2023, where we saw record funding for USDA programs, including that made available by the Inflation Reduction. To build upon that momentum, in 2024, the budget of National Resource Conservation Service Environmental Quality Incentives Program’s (EQIP) will also increase by a sum of $1.65 billion. Anyway, CIBO would use this opportunity to optimize the very process of filling a USDA application, thus immensely helping growers’ chances of receiving the desired cash injection. Not just EQIP, though, company’s solution is also available across other USDA-funded programs, including the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and Climate-Smart Commodities grant projects. Talk about the stated solution on a slightly deeper level, we begin from its promise to scale program delivery where CIBO’s partners can basically access a new way to serve growers across the board. This new way involves banking on CIBO to deliver public and private programs at the disposal of their growers, as well as improve on their existing agronomy, retail, or other offerings. Next up, we must get into how the solution can also reduce application time by a significant margin. You see, by showing advisors and growers clearly defined program requirements, the solution is able to eliminate a lot of the unnecessary noise, something which can then lead to lighter time-related demands on the application’s part. This the solution pursues also by identifying eligible practices, and ensuring that growers include the correct USDA forms with their applications. Then, we have the prospect of accurately gauging the payment potential. You see, CIBO Impact comes well-equipped with an ability to help users estimate the payout for program enrollment. Such estimations can go a long way, especially when the agenda is to make informed decisions about applying and implementing new practices.
“Partnering with CIBO opens up a new avenue for us to support our growers in tapping into conservation programs,” said Jody Longshore, Chief Commercial Officer of Advanced Agrilytics, a CIBO grower network partner. “We’re thrilled to offer our customers access to more financial support in improving their land. It’s aligned directly with our mission to unlock the potential of every acre through our agronomy services, helping growers invest in sustainable practices that make sense both environmentally and economically. For companies like ours focused on growers’ needs, this collaboration is a significant opportunity.”
Moving on, CIBO Impact also makes a point to inform growers in terms of whether they are eligible for any private programs in their area, such as Scope 3 or carbon credit programs. If the eligibility report is positive, then growers can stack public and private incentives together to maximize cost share and return on investment during the adoption of conservation practices. We referred to how CIBO gives you better shot at availing the funds on the offer, but what still haven’t touched on is the field-level practice recommendations that it will provide to help you inch closer towards that goal, complimenting the same with a facility to tailor those recommendations as per each growers’ operations, and align with local resource concern priorities for greater relevance.
“Scaled adoption of conservation practices requires that growers have access to funding, technical guidance, and more efficient processes when applying to programs,” said Daniel Ryan, CEO of CIBO Technologies. “By digitizing the process and enabling stacking of public and private incentives, we are creating an easier path for growers to receive critical support for practices that enhance food security and benefit the climate.”
Founded in 2015, CIBO Technologies has risen up the ranks by applying advanced ideas to help people understand agricultural systems at any possible scale. As a part of this pursuit, the company has conceived a CIBO Impact program, which introduces a novel approach to scaling and accelerating regenerative agriculture. On a granular level, the program would connect growers with enterprises that are ready to meet their sustainability, carbon, and Scope 3 commitments. Once the parties are connected, companies can leverage the same to understand the emissions reduction potential of their agricultural supply chain, incentivize growers to make changes, verify practices, and quantify and report on results. As for growers, they stand to gain extensive education on the potential return of different incentive programs. Underlining both the ends are these bleeding-edge ecosystem simulation, Al, computer vision, and software technologies that provide quantification, prediction, and insight capabilities at a big level. Thus far, companies like Verra, Gold Standard, Field to Market, AirMiners, and OpenTEAM etc have joined CIBO’s program, and owing to the development in question, this list should only grow longer over time.
“CIBO is an ally for farmers navigating the complex landscape of USDA conservation programs,” said Bob Metz of Metz Family Farms in Peever, S.D. “The CIBO Impact platform has the capability to significantly expedite the creation of an EQIP application and opens up more financial opportunities. Stacking public and private incentives seamlessly is invaluable to maximizing returns on conservation practices.”
