The SWOF Story
Meet the SWOF Team
FAQs
Farmer Survey Results

About SWOF

  • The Soil and Water Outcomes Fund is an outcomes-based program that connects your sustainability goals with on-farm conservation practices. It incentivizes farmers to implement practices that deliver measurable environmental outcomes, which are verified and can be invested in to meet your sustainability commitments.

  • SWOF helps us advance goals related to:

    • Scope 3 greenhouse gas reduction

    • Climate strategy

    • Water stewardship

    • Regenerative agriculture commitments

    • ESG / sustainability reporting

    • Supply chain resilience initiatives

  • SWOF handles the farmer relationships, technical expertise, measurement systems and program administration—allowing us to efficiently deploy sustainability investment without building our own program from scratch.

  • In addition to environmental outcomes, SWOF investments help us:

    • Strengthen agricultural supply chain resilience

    • Improve stakeholder trust

    • Support producer relationships

    • Advance regenerative agriculture commitments

    • Demonstrate leadership in practical climate and water stewardship

  • Environmental outcomes are quantified using field-level farm management data combined with established scientific models to measure:

    • Greenhouse gas reductions

    • Carbon sequestration

    • Nutrient runoff reductions

    • Sediment reductions

    • Water-quality improvements

    SWOF uses third-party verification processes to validate environmental outcomes and ensure that reported impacts meet program standards and market expectations.

  • “SWOF has been a great partner. The enrollment and verification process is simple, but it’s also thorough and makes sure we’re accountable. As farmers, ROI is important, but knowing you’re doing something good for your farm and for everybody else is important, too. We really appreciate the private-sector partners who put their resources toward this work. We all share in the outcomes happening on this farm.”
    — Wes Shoemyer - Missouri
     
    “We wanted to expand the number of acres we were cover cropping, but when you get into thousands of acres, it takes an investment. Our partnership with the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund gave us the financial backing to do that with less risk. The process was simple and straightforward, and everything has been delivered exactly as it was presented to us. We’ve maintained our yields while seeing reduced erosion and improved soil health, so we’re coming out ahead in the long run.” — Jeff Bentley - Iowa
     
    “Since joining the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund, we’ve put rye on every single acre of our operation. The program allowed us to take that step while relieving some of the financial burden. We’ve seen benefits from weed suppression to getting into the field sooner in the spring. It’s been a great program for us, and it helps farmers get started with cover crops and try something new on their operation.”
    — Sophie Sirin - Iowa

About Conservation Practices

  • No-till is a conservation practice in which crops are planted without disturbing the soil with traditional tillage.

  • No-till allows farmers to maintain soil structure and reduces disruption, which reduces soil erosion, improves water infiltration, and increases soil carbon retention. These outcomes contribute to improved water quality and greenhouse gas reduction.

  • Cover crops are plants grown between primary cash crop seasons to protect and enhance the soil.

  • Cover crops help reduce nutrient runoff, improve soil structure and increase carbon sequestration.

  • Strip-till is a conservation practice that disturbs only a narrow strip of soil where crops are planted, leaving the majority of the field undisturbed.

  • Strip-till reduces soil disturbance while maintaining favorable planting conditions, resulting in decreased erosion and improved nutrient efficiency.

  • On-farm conservation is critical to addressing some of the most pressing environmental challenges, including water quality degradation and climate change.

  • Yes. Over time, these practices improve soil structure, increase organic matter, enhance water retention, and build resilience to extreme weather. Healthier soils support more consistent yields and long-term farm viability, helping ensure that environmental outcomes are durable and repeatable year after year.