Ökoregion Kaindorf: Paying Farmers to Rebuild Soil Carbon

Founded in 2007 by municipalities in Styria's Hartberg district, Ökoregion Kaindorf pioneered a regional, voluntary humus-building programme that trades farm-verified soil carbon for cash. Through its Humus+ initiative, participating farmers change tillage and cover-cropping practices to rebuild humus, which is independently measured before farmers are paid up to 30 euros per verified tonne of bound CO2, with the resulting certificates sold to companies offsetting emissions. As of mid-2026 the programme includes 419 farms managing 5,453 hectares of cropland across Austria and neighbouring Slovenia, with the rebuilt humus also improving the soil's ability to hold water.