Partnership supports on-farm sustainable practices

MOLINE, Ill. — The Soil and Water Outcomes Fund and John Deere announced a new collaboration, bringing an integrated digital experience to farmers participating in SWOF’s leading agricultural ecosystem services program.

This digital integration with the John Deere Operations Center will streamline the enrollment process and field data management, empowering farmers to adopt sustainable practices more effectively.

SWOF, managed by AgOutcomes, a subsidiary of the Iowa Soybean Association, provides financial incentives to farmers for the environmental outcomes resulting from new or expanded conservation practices.

The integration with John Deere Operations Center gives farmers the option to seamlessly share and record their field operational data with SWOF directly from John Deere’s precision ag technology, saving farmers time and increasing accuracy.

“Participating in programs like the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund is a great opportunity for farmers to unlock additional value in their operations,” said Dan Leibfried, John Deere vice president for corn and soy production systems.

“At John Deere, we’re laser focused on delivering both the equipment and technology solutions that enable sustainable practices, as well as the data management capabilities that allow farmers to document their success.

“Through this integrated digital experience with SWOF, we’re going a step further to make the customer experience more seamless and ultimately make it easier for farmers to be rewarded for their efforts.”

SWOF has built a robust user interface to manage farmer enrollment and contracting, quantify multiple environmental outcomes using a suite of industry recognized models and facilitate data reporting and inset assignments for corporate and government outcome partners.

Through the new integration with Operations Center, the need for manual field operation data entry is eliminated when farmers elect to share data between systems.

“By integrating with John Deere Operations Center, it’s easier and faster for farmers to submit data for program enrollment,” said Adam Kiel, comanaging director of SWOF. “This collaboration represents our commitment to supporting farmers in their sustainability journey and our dedication to a data-driven, outcome-based approach.”

The integrated functionality is available to SWOF participants in 19 states, with plans for further growth in the coming years.

Farmers enrolled in the program implement conservation practices such as reduced tillage, cover crops, extended crop rotations and fertilization management to improve soil health and reduce erosion. Eligible acres must have a primary crop of corn, soy, wheat, or sugar beets.

SWOF opened its 2024 enrollment season to new farmer participants in March. Farmers or landowners interested in enrolling in the program can visit www.theoutcomesfund.com to sign up for a free estimate and enroll.