CMI Orchards, a major grower, packer, and shipper of apples, pears, and cherries, is spearheading a movement to prove that world-class produce can be net carbon negative. With the launch of its new consumer-facing brand, “Planet Positive™,” CMI Orchards is signaling a commitment to growing practices that sequester more carbon than they emit. It’s a bold claim, backed by a complex and pioneering infrastructure project known as The Soil Center and a massive commitment to biocharBiochar is a carbon-rich material created from biomass decomposition in low-oxygen conditions. It has important applications in environmental remediation, soil improvement, agriculture, carbon sequestration, energy storage, and sustainable materials, promoting efficiency and reducing waste in various contexts while addressing climate change challenges. More production that is setting a new industry standard.

The story begins with an organizational structure that, in itself, is a testament to collaboration. CMI Orchards serves as the sales and marketing agency for four owner-grower groups, including Double Diamond Fruit. The owners of Double Diamond Fruit also own Royal Family Farming, which specializes in beef, dairy, and row crops. CMI and Royal Family Farming have partnered to create The Soil Center, a joint initiative designed to process and upcycle waste streams from both the orchard and the cattle operations, track carbon data, and provide a new economic stream for farmers where growing production costs demand offsetting. Nested like a set of Ukrainian dolls, these interdependent relationships are the bedrock of the entire sustainability initiative. 

The Soil Center: Transforming Waste into Wealth

For CMI Orchards, waste has become a profit engine. Historically, the industry standard for handling removed woody orchard material—such as old apple trees—has been burning, a process that produces particulate matter and releases CO2. CMI’s new approach addresses this challenge head-on by upcycling all this waste alongside a ‘zero burn commitment’ company-wide.

The Soil Center facility, which is currently under construction and expected to be completed by the end of 2025, is a hub of regenerative innovation. It’s designed to handle a combination of waste: culled apples that can’t be sold, removed tree material from the orchards, and manure and other waste streams from Royal Family Farming’s 50,000-head cattle and row crop operations. The facility uses a trifecta of processes: biochar reactors, worm farms, and a compost facility.

CMI’s Sustainability Manager, Rose Vejvoda, explained that the economic model is fundamentally driven by this transformation: turning removed orchard trees into high-value soil amendments like biochar, worm castings, or compost. This production drastically improves soil health, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers, which in turn cuts down on emissions and lowers costs.

Biochar at Scale: An 8,000-Ton Commitment

Biochar production is at the heart of the upcycling process. The Soil Center facility plans to operate three biochar reactors. The estimated annual feedstockFeedstock refers to the raw organic material used to produce biochar. This can include a wide range of materials, such as wood chips, agricultural residues, and animal manure. More allocation to the reactors is between 20,000 and 25,000 tons of organic material. From this volume, the projected output is approximately 8,000 tons of biochar per year. 

This production is not solely for internal use, though CMI does have 20,000 acres of its own orchards. Within the next year, CMI Orchards plans to start selling its soil amendments—biochar, worm castings, and compost—to the broader agricultural community. By increasing the supply of these regenerative inputs, CMI aims to help other growers reduce their reliance on synthetic fertilizers, spreading the environmental and economic benefits. While their current reactors are fixed, the company is already exploring portable biochar reactor solutions for the future to overcome the expense of transporting feedstock.

The Insetting Strategy: Trust and Transparency

A key component of the economic return on this “huge financial investment” in worm farms, biochar reactors, facility construction, and the carbon credit registration process is the generation of carbon credits. The projected biochar output of 8,000 tons is expected to generate close to 25,000 carbon credits.

CMI is primarily focused on “insetting” their credits. Instead of selling offsets on a distant global market, their goal is to keep the benefit within their own supply chain and the food industry. They intend to sell these credits as insets directly to their supply chain partners, helping them to clean up their Scope 3 emissions.

This insetting model provides a crucial layer of transparency and trust. The carbon crediting project is under validation, utilizing third-party-verified soil testing performed annually to measure the increase in soil organic carbon. As Vejvoda explained, partners who buy these insets know precisely where they come from and can visit the farm to see the practices firsthand. This direct relationship overcomes the disconnect often felt when purchasing credits through a registry, providing a tangible link to the “good that is happening” and a compelling story for consumers.

Importantly, CMI is committed to a dual approach. In addition to selling insets, they are “actively working to lower our emissions” by using soil amendments to reduce the need for fertilizers and fuel consumption from machinery. This focus on continuous emission reduction, rather than just offsetting, is what drives the project’s integrity. CMI and Royal Family Farming’s commitment to scaling regenerative agriculture to this magnitude makes this project a pioneering achievement. The Soil Center is working with internationally recognized carbon registration and project management firms to map and register the carbon credit project.

From SOARS to ‘Planet Positive’: The Carbon Negative Equation

To manage and communicate this wide array of initiatives, CMI uses two distinct branding strategies.

1. SOARS (Sustainable Orchards and Regenerative Solutions): This is the company’s broader sustainability program, designed primarily for communication with the supply chain and retailers. It encompasses all their initiatives, aggressive sustainability goals, and includes an annual report.
2. Planet Positive™: This is the brand created specifically for the end consumer. Its purpose is to communicate simply and effectively that the fruit is net carbon negative. The intent is to transcend confusing industry jargon and give consumers a clear, positive association with CMI’s produce, using an emotional hook.

CMI and Royal’s regenerative agriculture practices—biochar application, worm castings, compost, no-till, and cover cropping—are the mechanisms used to add far more carbon to the soil than the entire operation emits. 

The Future Focus: Nutrient Density

Beyond the massive commitment to carbon sequestration, CMI is exploring a fascinating next-generation benefit of soil health: the impact on nutrient density in the fruit.

CMI is studying the connection between their improved soil health (through biochar, worm castings, and compost) and the micronutrient density of their apples. Preliminary testing has already indicated that their apples have a higher nutrient density than the USDA reference sample. This research taps into a powerful consumer driver: health and wellness. As Rose Vejvoda pointed out, nutrient density is proving to be a stronger purchasing driver than even sustainability alone, creating a powerful marketing connection between regenerative practices and consumer health.

As this research progresses, CMI Orchards is set to unlock a new frontier in agricultural branding: where an apple is not just an apple, but a choice for the planet and for personal health.