CF Industries and POET partner with cooperatives to pilot low-carbon fertilizers, reducing corn and ethanol carbon intensity across the Midwest.
CF Industries Holdings, Inc., a global leader in hydrogen and nitrogen-based products, has joined forces with POET, the world’s largest biofuel producer, along with several major agricultural cooperatives, to launch a pilot initiative focused on building a low-carbon fertilizer supply chain. The central objective of this collaboration is to demonstrate how the use of low-carbon nitrogen fertilizers can meaningfully reduce the carbon intensity of corn cultivation and, in turn, enable the production of lower-carbon ethanol suitable for both domestic fuel use and international markets.
The pilot brings together key players across the agricultural value chain, including WinField United—the crop inputs and agronomic insights business of Land O’Lakes, Inc.—as well as prominent agricultural cooperatives such as NuWay-K&H, New Cooperative, and Farmer’s Cooperative. By aligning fertilizer production, distribution, farming practices, and ethanol manufacturing, the participants aim to prove that decarbonization efforts can be effectively implemented at scale without disrupting agricultural productivity.
Under the program, the partners will track and verify the carbon intensity certification of low-carbon fertilizers manufactured by CF Industries. These products will move through CF Industries’ distribution network, pass into retail channels managed by cooperative partners, and ultimately be applied by corn growers across Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nebraska. The corn harvested using these lower-carbon fertilizers will then be supplied to POET’s ethanol plants located in Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska, where it will be processed into ethanol with a reduced overall carbon footprint.
The consortium successfully completed the first round of distribution and field application of low-carbon ammonia fertilizer during the fall 2025 growing season. Based on current projections, POET anticipates that corn grown with this fertilizer will support the production of approximately 5 to 6 million gallons of ethanol with a lower carbon intensity than conventional bioethanol.
According to Bert Frost, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at CF Industries, fertilizers produced with a reduced carbon footprint offer a measurable and certifiable pathway for lowering emissions associated with bioethanol feedstocks. He emphasized that the pilot demonstrates a fully integrated low-carbon ethanol value chain, connecting fertilizer manufacturing, retail distribution, farm-level application, and renewable fuel production.
Christian McIlvain, President of POET Grain, highlighted that the initiative aligns closely with POET’s long-standing mission to expand market opportunities for farmers while strengthening rural economies. He noted that the pilot provides an additional mechanism to reduce the carbon intensity of bioethanol, generating both environmental benefits and new economic value for Midwest agricultural communities.
CF Industries’ low-carbon ammonia is produced at its Donaldsonville Complex, where carbon dioxide emissions generated during ammonia production are captured and permanently stored underground. At full operating capacity, the facility can produce up to 1.9 million tons of low-carbon ammonia annually—enough to supply fertilizer for roughly 19 to 22 million acres of corn.
Paul Barr, Senior Director of Procurement, Operations, and Transportation at WinField United Crop Nutrients, stated that participation in the pilot was a natural fit given the cooperative system’s commitment to environmental stewardship. He underscored that collaboration across the supply chain is essential for driving innovation, supporting farmers, and advancing long-term agricultural sustainability through best-in-class low-carbon practices.
