The SWOF Story
Who We Are
The Soil and Water Outcomes Fund helps companies invest in measurable environmental outcomes by connecting corporate sustainability funding with farmers implementing conservation practices.
SWOF serves as the bridge between corporate sustainability commitments and on-farm action—enabling businesses to support farmers in adopting practices that improve soil health, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance water quality.
Why Soil and Water Outcomes Matter
Agriculture sits at the center of many companies’ sustainability strategies because it is both:
A significant contributor to Scope 3 emissions
A major opportunity for measurable environmental improvement
Investing in soil and water outcomes helps address:
Climate goals through carbon reduction and sequestration
Water stewardship through nutrient runoff reduction and improved watershed health
Supply chain resilience through healthier, more productive soils
Stakeholder expectations for credible, measurable sustainability action
Working Across the Value Chain
SWOF simplifies corporate sustainability goals by serving as the integrator between corporate partners and farmers.
Corporate Partners
Provide funding to support measurable environmental outcomes tied to their sustainability objectives.
SWOF
Identifies, enrolls and supports farmers; quantifies and verifies environmental outcomes; and manages program implementation.
Farmers
Implement conservation practices that generate environmental benefits while strengthening long-term farm resilience.
Result
Companies receive credible, measurable sustainability outcomes while farmers are compensated for conservation adoption.
Key Messaging Pillars for Partners
1. Outcomes, Not Intentions
We support measurable environmental improvements—not just practice adoption.
2. Farmer-Centered Design
SWOF aligns sustainability incentives with producer economics and operational realities.
3. Scalable Impact
The program enables broad adoption across geographies and cropping systems.
4. Credible Sustainability Progress
Outcomes are quantified, verified and tied to real on-farm implementation.
Partner Talking Points
Expanded notes to help you communicate effectively about SWOF
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SWOF provides a scalable mechanism to support agricultural sustainability within our value chain.
The program converts sustainability investment into measurable environmental outcomes.
It helps us advance Scope 3, water stewardship and sustainability commitments through direct farmer engagement.
Outcomes are quantified using science-based modeling and verification methodologies.
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We invest in programs that help farmers adopt practices that improve soil health and water quality.
Through SWOF, our sustainability commitments translate into measurable on-farm environmental impact.
Our support helps accelerate practical conservation adoption across agriculture.
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Our partnership with SWOF advances measurable Scope 3 and natural resource goals.
The program provides traceable, outcomes-based sustainability investment.
We are supporting scalable agricultural solutions that align environmental progress with farmer economics.
Explaining Farmer Impacts
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Farmers receive compensation for implementing conservation practices.
Payments help offset adoption risk and transition costs.
The program supports producer profitability while advancing sustainability.
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Farmers gain access to technical support and agronomic guidance.
Conservation practices can improve long-term field performance and resilience.
Participation encourages practical, farm-by-farm sustainability solutions.
Explaining Common Conservation Practices
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Planting crops between cash crop seasons to keep living roots in the soil, helping reduce erosion, improve water infiltration, capture nutrients and build soil health.
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Limiting or eliminating tillage to minimize soil disturbance, which helps retain soil carbon, reduce erosion, improve soil structure and conserve moisture.
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Applying fertilizer more precisely—at the right rate, time and place—to improve nutrient efficiency, reduce runoff and lower environmental impact.
Note: These are the most common conservation practices for SWOF farmers, but this is not an all-inclusive list of conservation practices.
Messaging Guideline
Do Say:
- “Supports measurable environmental outcomes”
- “Helps farmers adopt and scale conservation practices”
- “Advances Scope 3 / water / sustainability goals”
- “Outcomes-based sustainability investment”
Don’t Say:
- “Offsets our emissions” (unless legally/accounting approved)
- “Carbon neutral through SWOF”
- “Guaranteed sequestration”
- “Farmers are required to…” (better: “participating farmers choose to…”)