Microsoft Backs Soil Carbon Deal With Agoro Carbon

In a significant step toward advancing its carbon removal strategy, Microsoft has entered into a landmark 12-year offtake agreement with Agoro Carbon, a U.S.-based provider of soil-focused carbon removal solutions. This partnership marks one of the largest soil-based carbon removal commitments ever made, as Microsoft commits to purchasing 2.6 million carbon credits generated through regenerative agricultural practices. The deal highlights the growing momentum behind nature-based solutions in the global race to mitigate climate change and underscores Microsoft’s continued leadership in voluntary carbon markets.

Agoro Carbon, launched in 2021 by Norwegian crop nutrition giant Yara, focuses on enabling farmers and ranchers to sequester carbon in the soil through sustainable land management practices. By implementing methods such as cover cropping, reduced tillage, and improved grazing systems, Agoro works directly with agricultural producers to boost carbon storage in soils. These practices not only capture atmospheric carbon but also improve overall agricultural resilience. The company generates verified soil carbon credits from these efforts and provides agronomic and financial support to help producers transition to and maintain these regenerative practices.

The benefits to farmers go beyond financial incentives from selling carbon credits. According to Agoro, farmers enrolled in its programs have seen improvements in crop and forage yields, input efficiency, and resistance to extreme weather events. By offering hands-on support from agronomists, the company ensures that producers receive the technical knowledge and resources needed to succeed in the long term. Elliot Formal, CEO of Agoro Carbon, described the Microsoft deal as a strong endorsement of Agoro’s farmer-first approach, emphasizing the importance of building resilient agricultural systems that can thrive under future climate conditions.

“This agreement with Microsoft is the strongest endorsement of our quality-driven, farmer-focused approach to soil carbon sequestration,” Formal said. “We’re working with farmers and ranchers—offering hands-on support from our agronomists to ensure they achieve meaningful, long-term outcomes. From initial implementation to sustained success, we’re committed to helping producers build resilient operations for the future.”

For Microsoft, the deal represents a strategic addition to its already extensive carbon removal portfolio. The tech giant has emerged as the world’s largest corporate buyer of carbon removal credits and has set a bold target of becoming carbon negative by 2030. To achieve this, Microsoft is investing heavily in both technological and nature-based carbon removal solutions. In the past year alone, the company reported contracts for nearly 22 million tons of carbon removal across a broad array of approaches, including reforestation, forest management, biochar, and bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).

Just weeks prior to the Agoro Carbon announcement, Microsoft had signed another soil-based carbon removal agreement with Indigo Ag, further emphasizing its focus on agriculture-based solutions. These deals reflect Microsoft’s commitment to diversified, science-backed carbon removal strategies that not only help reduce net emissions but also create co-benefits such as biodiversity, food security, and water retention.

Brian Marrs, Senior Director of Energy Markets at Microsoft, commented on the importance of scientific rigor and transparency in carbon removal efforts, highlighting that Agoro Carbon’s program met the company’s high standards for quality and verification.

“Agoro Carbon’s approach to soil-based carbon removals reflects the kind of scientific rigor and long-term solution we look for in our carbon removal portfolio,” Marrs said. “This agreement supports our broader sustainability goals at Microsoft, including support of scalable, agriculture-based climate solutions that deliver measurable impact over time.”

A distinguishing feature of Agoro’s model is its data-driven methodology. The company combines advanced modeling, field-level soil sampling, and independent third-party verification to ensure that the carbon credits issued are durable, transparent, and based on actual carbon sequestration outcomes. This level of measurement and validation is increasingly crucial in the voluntary carbon market, where buyers are demanding greater integrity and permanence in carbon removal claims.

As corporations around the world race to meet net-zero targets, partnerships like this one are helping to legitimize and scale the market for carbon removals. The Microsoft-Agoro deal not only brings substantial financial backing to regenerative agriculture but also sends a clear message that nature-based solutions, when backed by science and strong verification, can play a critical role in addressing climate change.

This agreement stands as a testament to the evolving role of large corporations in climate action. By aligning its corporate sustainability goals with climate-smart agricultural practices, Microsoft is not only reducing its own environmental footprint but also empowering farmers to be part of the climate solution. With the deal in place, both companies are setting a precedent for how business and agriculture can collaborate to create scalable, measurable, and lasting environmental impact.