WENATCHEE, WA - While it may have been easier to disregard terms like sustainability, regenerative agriculture, and soil amendments 10 or even 15 years ago, today is a different story. We live in an era of constant innovation and an increasingly complex landscape of environmental impacts.

Companies like CMI Orchards are sitting down to map out the meanings, relevancy, and purpose in a growing age of environmental awareness. In Part 1, we kicked off the conversation with CMI’s Resident Sustainability Expert, Rose Vejvoda, and today, we delve into more of the common questions customers have in an effort to better understand the landscape.

Rose, start us out with soil amendments. What are they and why are they important? Why are carbon-rich soil amendments useful?

"Soil amendments are materials added to soil to improve its health and productivity. They can be natural (such as compost, manure, or biochar) or synthetic (chemical fertilizers and treatments), and they help with tasks like adding nutrients, improving soil structure, retaining more water, and supporting beneficial microbes.

They’re important because healthy soil grows healthier crops, uses water and fertilizers more efficiently, and provides greater resilience to drought and pests.

Carbon-rich soil amendments are beneficial because they not only boost soil fertility but store carbon in the ground instead of letting it escape into the atmosphere. All soil amendments made at The Soil Center are naturally-derived, designed to be carbon-rich and highly nutritious, reducing our need to add synthetic products to our soil."

Why are worm farms useful in farming?

"Worm farms use worms and microbes to naturally clean wastewater from farming operations. As wastewater passes through beds filled with wood chips and millions of worms, the worms eat and break down organic waste, while the microbes living alongside them help filter and purify the water.

This process is useful in farming because it cleans wastewater, allowing us to reuse it for irrigation; reduces odors from manure while keeping it out of local waterways; produces worm castings, a nutrient-rich, organic fertilizer; and reduces methane emissions from manure management.

The Soil Center has two worm farms, totaling 14 acres of worm beds, and millions of worms! In fact, we’re pretty sure we have the largest worm farm in the world."

What is CO2e and how is it different from just CO2?

"CO2e stands for “carbon dioxide equivalent.” It’s a way of adding up all the different greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide, into a single number so they can be compared on the same scale.

This matters because not all greenhouse gases are created equal. For example, methane (CH4) traps about 28 times more heat than CO2, and nitrous oxide (N2O) traps about 265 times more heat!

So, instead of tracking each gas separately, we convert them into the amount of CO2 that would have the same warming effect–and use the term CO2e."

How do you verify or measure these carbon credits?

"At The Soil Center, the carbon credits we generate are verified under the Verra Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), one of the world’s most widely recognized programs for ensuring that carbon reductions are real and reliable.

Here’s how it works: We document our soil carbon practices and take soil samples to calculate the amount of carbon being stored over time. Then, an independent third-party verifier, approved by Verra, reviews our data and confirms that the carbon storage is genuine. At that point, Verra issues carbon credits, which can then be used or sold as offsets (outside the supply chain) or insets (inside the supply chain – the most valuable type of impact). Our carbon credits are always based on actual soil samples in our orchards and operations, not from models."

How does selling carbon credits to supply chain partners help the environment?

"Selling carbon credits to supply chain partners helps the environment by creating a financial incentive for practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. When partners purchase carbon insets from us, they support regenerative farming that stores more carbon in the soil, reduces emissions, encourages more sustainable practices across the supply chain, and directs funding toward climate solutions.

In short, when supply chain partners purchase carbon insets, they’re not just balancing their own emissions; they’re funding real environmental improvements on farms that keep carbon in the ground, improve soil health, and make agriculture more sustainable long-term."

How can fruit be “carbon negative”?

"Our tree fruit, and other food, can be labeled “carbon negative” when the processes to grow and pack them actually remove more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere than the process creates.

At CMI Orchards, this is made possible by our work at The Soil Center. Trees naturally pull carbon dioxide out of the air as they grow, storing it in their wood, roots, and soil.

Regenerative practices like cover cropping, compost, and biochar add even more carbon to the soil. At the same time, we reduce emissions from fertilizers, energy use, and waste.

When the amount of carbon absorbed and stored by the orchard is greater than the emissions produced along the way, the result is carbon negative apples—fruit that helps clean the air as it grows."

Why keep credits within the supply chain instead of selling them elsewhere?

"Keeping carbon credits within the supply chain (insets) means the climate benefits stay directly connected to the products we grow and sell. Instead of selling credits on the open market, partnering with our own buyers and suppliers ensures that the value stays in the supply chain, everyone in the supply chain can lower their footprint and show progress on climate commitments, partners know where the credits come from and how the carbon was stored, and it creates a win-win relationship where environmental improvements also strengthen business ties.

In short, keeping credits in the supply chain makes climate action more local, transparent, and impactful for everyone involved.

From carbon credits and insets to biochar, worm farms, and carbon-negative fruit, regenerative agriculture is more than just a collection of buzzwords; it’s the future of farming. At CMI Orchards and The Soil Center, these practices aren’t experiments; they’re real, measurable steps that lock carbon into the soil, clean our water, reduce emissions, grow healthier crops, and fulfill CMI’s mission to be the first fully carbon negative apple, pear and cherry shipper on the planet.

By asking the right questions and putting the answers into action, CMI is showing how orchards can become planet-positive. By keeping the benefits within the supply chain, CMI is demonstrating that sustainability can strengthen both the planet and the partnerships that sustain it."

Thank you for joining us for this two-part series with CMI Orchards!