Frequently Asked Questions

The following tools, platforms, technologies, and assistance are being developed by ESMC to support EcoHarvest participation by producers as well as buyers:

• Science-based, standards-based, certified protocols for agricultural production systems.
• Technologically advanced, farm and field specific quantification tools, including new soil carbon testing technologies and methodologies aimed at improving rigor, reducing costs, and streamlining the process.
• Integrated Enrollment Platform that is user-friendly and allows for data migration from common data collection platforms utilized by producers.
• Soil Sampling Stratification application to assist in generating and tracking soil sampling locations and results.
• Certification of ecosystem service projects, protocols, and outcomes generated.
• On-the-ground producer support from multiple ESMC member organizations.

ESMC’s EcoHarvest ecosystem services market program is science-based, outcomes-based, and creates Scope 3 (supply chain) outcomes from agricultural farming and ranching operations. ESMC is one of two only fully validated and verified agricultural supply chain programs in North America, and the only non-profit program.

ESMC’s non-profit structure means we minimize costs and maximize stakeholder value for farmers and ranchers, as well as those who invest in the ecosystem services they produce. ESMC’s members span the entire agriculture supply and value chain, including corporate, non-profit, foundation, industry association, and government partners.

ESMC is also a public-private partnership. ESMRC (Ecosystem Services Market Research Consortium), the research arm of ESMC, leverages funding from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) to research and develop solutions that support a technologically advanced ecosystem services market for the agricultural sector. ESMC members contribute resources to support implementation of agricultural land stewardship practices that improve soil health and related environmental outcomes. Members help govern ESMC’s structure, program development, research investments, and activities.

We base our work on science, widely accepted standards, and outcomes. Our protocols have the strongest scientific basis possible to provide confidence and trust to sellers and buyers as well as the general public. Protocols and our project design are verified by global certification bodies like SustainCERT so buyers of our credits have confidence that their investment is truly having impact.

ESMC captures and quantifies results from farmer’s stewardship practices into ecosystem service outcomes based on the latest science, measurable results, and broadly accepted standards. We measure, monitor, verify and then market ecosystem services outcomes that capture increases in soil organic carbon, reductions of greenhouse gases, reductions of agricultural water and soil losses that impact water quality (including nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment), improved water conservation (in pilot status), as well as biodiversity (in pilot status).  

Benefits to farmers don’t stop with ESMC payments. Regenerative and sustainable agricultural practices that increase soil organic carbon also improve overall soil health, structure, fertility, and productivity. This can create more resilient production systems that are less impacted by extreme weather and other environmental conditions. Better soil health, in turn, means reduced soil erosion from wind and water, keeping valuable soil in the field. Improved soil water holding capacity can reduce nutrient losses and lower irrigation requirements. Regenerative practices can also positively impact biodiversity and habitat. 

ESMC’s EcoHarvest program captures and quantifies results from producers’ stewardship practices into ecosystem services based on the latest science, measurable results, and broadly accepted standards. ESMC is currently providing Scope 3 outcomes. 

The concept of different “scopes” is based on Greenhouse Gas Protocol nomenclature developed by the World Resources Institute. While this nomenclature is specific to greenhouse gas emissions, it is useful for understanding the difference between these two markets. 

To illustrate, imagine a company operates a processed food factory. The company has a greenhouse gas footprint based on this facility’s emissions. We call these Scope 1 emissions since they result from the company’s main activities. That company may want to offset these emissions by buying carbon offsets from other companies that have reduced their own emissions in ways others have not. This is the Scope 1 market. 

This same food company can also take a broader look at its greenhouse gas footprint, looking beyond its own offices and accounting for the emissions associated with the agricultural goods that it uses for its finished products. 

Greenhouse gas emissions that result from the production of its raw materials are considered the food company’s Scope 3 emissions. In other words, Scope 3 represents the emissions that result from the company’s supply chain as the raw materials are produced and make their way to the factory. Eco-Harvest only works with Scope 3 outcomes, not Scope 1 credits.

EcoHarvest outcomes can be used in corporate supply chain reporting. They represent environmental improvements associated with the supply chains of companies within the food, agriculture, and beverage sector. Benefits to Scope 3 outcomes include the ability for multiple companies to co-finance and co-claim these improvements to their shared supply chains.

ESMC generates verified Scope 3 outcomes and has the ability to track them to support appropriate co-claiming but prevents inappropriate double-counting. Therefore, buyers from across the value chain can share intervention costs and co-claim outcomes that are appropriately tracked and co-claimed to document annual reporting claims of changes to their Scope 3 emissions. This allows buyers to collaboratively scale impact, increase the value of their investments, and utilize ESMC’s programmatic investment platform for outcome generation, verification, and tracking that is credible and transparent.

How does this work in practice with EcoHarvest projects? A producer enrolls in an EcoHarvest project and undertakes approved practice changes. As an example, Company A sources corn from a specific supply shed and uses that corn as a primary ingredient in their cereal product. Company B also sources corn from the same supply shed in their products. Since the corn is included in each company’s production system, both company A and company B can co-invest in practice changes and cost share the Scope 3 outcomes; ESMC tracks volumetric outcomes to buyer use of the commodity, and with SustainCERT, tracks the volume of commodities from projects as they are bought and sold by co-investing companies. ESMC’s co-investment model and MRV enables collaborative action and shared investments to scale impacts credibly and transparently.

Food and beverage processors, manufacturers and retailers are the primary buyers of EcoHarvest Scope 3 outcomes. EcoHarvest provides corporate partners and buyers with certified outcomes to meet their own commitments toward carbon neutrality or net-zero carbon goals, commitments to reduce environmental footprints, and efforts to contribute to global Sustainable Development Goals 2030 impacts.  

ESMC supports members’ ambitions to continue investing in equitable, just, and environmentally sustainable food systems. We ensure these buyers can meet their goals and obligations through a certified, transparent, science-based, and cost-effective program. We lend credibility to these outcomes, thus meeting consumer and shareholder expectations while avoiding the need for every company to establish its own programs, tools, and metrics to do so. 

ESMC’s market and pilot program, EcoHarvest, launched in May 2022. Farmers in approved ESMC regions can enroll in projects and begin generating ecosystem service outcomes. Enrollment occurs through ESMC’s online Producer Portal, where producers create a secure account and identify fields for enrollment. ESMC-approved soil samplers then collect samples from enrolled fields and send them to an accredited laboratory for analysis of soil organic carbon, bulk density, pH, and phosphorus. Required information about a producer’s operations and conservation practices can be imported from other 3rd party platforms or entered directly by the producer or an assigned advisor. Producers may also be selected for on-site verification of the agricultural stewardship practices by ESMC-trained verifiers. 

EcoHarvest project outcomes are quantified, verified, and reported annually. Buyers pay for outcomes annually, and producers are paid annually for their outcomes. ESMC imposes no producer enrollment fees and requires no purchase of any agricultural products or services to participate in our program.

Conservation practices that result in ecosystem service outcomes typically come with operational costs to the farmer. These may include the cost of cover crop seed, new planting or cultivation equipment, different labor requirements, etc. Some of the expense of implementing different conservation practices may be eligible for federal or state cost-share programs. Farmers are encouraged to consider such programs to help offset costs of these conservation practices. Improvements in soil health provide benefits to producers, such as increased resilience to extreme weather events, increased soil fertility and productivity, improved water holding capacity, and reduced need for purchased inputs, all of which can reduce operating costs and increase profits.

ESMC incurs the cost of soil sampling and analysis, monitoring, reporting, and verification, which are covered as cost-of-services charges to buyers. As a non-profit, ESMC does not charge more than is required to cover the expenses associated with generating credible ecosystem service outcomes for farmers (sellers) and corporates (buyers).

ESMC will take a per-unit cost recovery fee from ecosystem service outcomes transactions. ESMC’s fees will hold steady or even decrease as market volume grows, since ESMC is a non-profit and only needs to cover its operating expenses. 

ESMC will publish its fees to buyers and sellers. All fees will be deducted from transactions themselves.

ESMC manages the ledger and execution of market program transactions. ESMC arranges the sale of producer’s outcomes. Buyers purchase the outcomes through EcoHarvest, including a cost-recovery fee for ESMC services to generate and verify the outcomes. Farmers are paid for producing these ecosystem services via their agricultural stewardship practices.

ESMC’s standard scope 3 contracting period for the EcoHarvest program is 5 years. There is no minimum volume for farmers. Farmer’s outcomes are calculated annually over the course of a 5-year crediting period, which may be renewed for three additional 5-year contracts for a total of 20 years maximum participation.

Most farmers enroll in EcoHarvest projects through member or partner organizations. ESMC does not have field staff but maintains a network of trained ESMC Enrollment Specialists to guide producer participation. Farmers enroll through ESMC’s online Producer Portal, where they create a secure account and identify fields for project enrollment. ESMC-approved soil samplers then collect soil samples and send them to an accredited laboratory for analysis of soil organic carbon, bulk density, pH, and phosphorus (following ESMC’s soil sampling protocols).

Required farmer data can be imported from other 3rd party platforms or entered directly by the farmer or an assigned advisor. Farmers may be selected for on-site verification of agricultural stewardship practices by 3rd party verifiers.

The general steps for farmer participation include outreach, engagement and technical assistance to enable practice changes, enrollment, soil sampling, impact unit quantification and verification, generation, and sale, resulting in payments. Read more about program details on the EcoHarvest website.

Production systems including conventional, regenerative, and organic, can participate in the EcoHarvest program. Major row crops such as soy, corn, and grains are currently eligible. ESMRC is expanding its research program to include more commodities such as additional row crops, livestock, tree fruits and nuts and select specialty crops as well as additional production regions. Livestock operations that utilize forms of prescribed grazing (e.g., rotational grazing) and other regenerative practice changes are also eligible for the research program. Livestock operations that require a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) are not eligible. 

Farmers do not need to enroll all their land. They can enroll as many fields under their management as are eligible. They generally cannot, however, enroll the same lands in EcoHarvest that are also enrolled in another ecosystem service program that generates ecosystem service credits, offsets, assets, or claims. 

Farmers who either own or lease their land are eligible to participate. Farmers who do not own their land will need to demonstrate that they retain land use rights. This can be demonstrated through agreements between the farmer and the landowner. ESMC can provide template agreements in this instance. Farmers enrolling leased land will also need to demonstrate the time remaining in the lease or rental agreement. 

If enrolled land changes ownership or a farm gets a new property owner mid-contract, the farmer will need to provide an updated agreement of landowner acknowledgement to demonstrate that they still have the land use rights necessary to generate and sell the outcomes. 

Eligibility for market participation varies by impact unit type and market. Accounting standards in Scope 3 markets allow some flexibility for rewarding early adopters of conservation practices while ensuring the integrity of the ecosystem services generated. ESMC is working to maximize the opportunities for producer participation while maintaining standards for verification and certification. By using inventory accounting, farmers participating in EcoHarvest projects can receive benefits for regenerative practices, even if the farmers have implemented them in the past.

ESMC allows farmers participating in EcoHarvest to decide which management systems are best for their businesses, goals, and circumstances, choosing from a list of widely recognized conservation management practices and industry standards. 

Eligible BMPs are those that ESMC has determined to be supported by peer reviewed studies and scientific demonstration sufficient to ensure they will lead to improvements in soil organic carbon, reductions in greenhouse gases, improvements in water quality, improvements in water use conservation or a combination of those actions. Read more about BMPs at the EcoHarvest website.

ESMC will generate outcomes only for real outcomes achieved by the farmers. If farmers fail to plant cover crops as planned during one year of the program, for instance, they may remain in the program. The beneficial environmental outcomes from that practice will simply not be realized for that year. Other outcomes generated will still be recorded. 

Manure management has the potential to result in ecosystem service outcome generation. The manure application timing and its incorporation into the soil also impact the potential for beneficial outcomes. ESMC recommends that farmers consult with their preferred technical assistance provider as well as the EcoHarvest project manager to determine which approaches to manure management will work best for their business operations, and which management changes may result in the generation of ecosystem service outcomes. 

Farmers enrolled in Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) cost-share programs (or other NRCS programs that offer a producer payment) can also enroll in ecosystem services markets like EcoHarvest. USDA cost-share programs are a beneficial form of complementary, up-front financing to aid in new conservation practice implementation. They may also enroll land that is enrolled in other state or local cost share programs. 

ESMC recognizes common agricultural practices referenced in NRCS Conservation Practice Standards. Non-NRCS recognized practices may also be used, provided that sufficient published scientific data and outcomes justify their use. Peer reviewed data is necessary to ensure ESMC’s quantification tools can be properly calibrated and validated for a given practice. 

ESMC does not provide direct practice-specific conservation technical assistance as partner organizations are better positioned to advise farmers on which land management practices are best for their operations, goals, and circumstances. ESMC works with project partners to ensure that farmers have the agronomic and technical support they need to participate successfully in EcoHarvest. 

ESMC-trained contractors will follow ESMC soil sampling and lab analysis protocols for measuring soil organic carbon, bulk density, pH and phosphorus. Soil carbon measurement protocols differ from normal agronomic sampling protocols. A 2” diameter core to a depth of 30 cm (about 12 inches) in the soil profile is required. Soil sampling locations and density are determined at a field scale through the ESMC Stratification App. Sampling density requirements are likely to be reduced over time, particularly for Scope 3 projects, depending on the outcomes of our pilots, research, demonstration projects, and the protocol refinement process. 

Measurement, Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) describes the key steps necessary to quantify ecosystem services and sell them as outcomes. ESMC’s EcoHarvest is designed to ensure that these steps are as efficient, streamlined, and seamless as possible for both buyers and sellers.

Our MRV System and Protocols

Our EcoHarvest MRV system is an end-to-end digital infrastructure linking the farmgate to credible GHG accounting for agribusinesses to reach their climate goals. EcoHarvest is one of only two programs in North America to achieve program certification with 3rd-party verification body SustainCERT.

About MMRV

ESMC’s MRV system includes measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification. Measurement refers to the information gathered from, and self-certified by, the farmer. This includes information related to crop management (e.g., crop rotation; fertilizer use; crop yield) as well as ongoing program eligibility (e.g., whether farmer continue to implement conservation practices as planned, and whether the land has changed ownership over the previous year). 

Reporting includes compiling the management– and project eligibility information for use in both quantifying ecosystem services generated, and for ease of checking the accuracy of this information for verification. 

Verification is the process of confirming that the information is complete and accurately represents what happened on the ground so that the outcomes can be generated, certified, and sold. 

ESMC takes data privacy and farmer information seriously. As stated in the ESMC Producer Privacy Policy, farmers’ individual personal information, email address, field and management data, and modeling results are kept secure and confidential unless a farmer provides explicit written permission for that information to be shared. ESMC staff and contractors are bound by a Data Usage Agreement and are only allowed access to information necessary for their role in generating outcomes. ESMC does not share or sell any farmer information with any third party unless producers specifically agree in writing to a data-sharing option. All farmer data is owned by the farmer, not ESMC.

Additionally, Eco-Harvest earned Ag Data Transparent (ADT) certification in December 2023 showcasing our commitment to transparent program operations that protect producer data.

EcoHarvest projects generate measurable outcomes only. If a farmer fails to plant cover crops as planned during one year of the program, they may remain in the program. The beneficial environmental outcomes from that practice are simply not realized for that year. Other outcomes generated in that year, based on other practice adoption, are still quantified, verified, and sold.

Farmers are held accountable for intentional reversals of previously generated soil organic carbon gains made in EcoHarvest. If farmers have received payments for soil carbon sequestered and then intentionally release the stored carbon, they will not receive further soil carbon removal payments until that carbon is restored in their soils. Payments can resume when carbon storage above prior levels is achieved. Unintentional reversals due to natural causes are not a farmer liability.

ESMC imposes no enrollment fees and requires no purchase of any agricultural products or services to participate. Conservation practices that result in ecosystem service outcomes typically come with operational costs to the farmer. These may include the cost of cover crop seed, new planting or cultivation equipment, different labor requirements, etc. Some of the expense of implementing different conservation practices may be eligible for NRCS or state cost-share programs. Farmers are encouraged to consider such programs to help offset costs of these conservation practices. Improvements in soil health provide benefits to farmers, such as increased resilience to extreme weather events, increased soil fertility and productivity, improved water holding capacity, and reduced need for purchased inputs, all of which can reduce operating costs and increase profits. 

Soil sampling costs will be incorporated into ESMC operating costs. ESMC or EcoHarvest project partners incur the cost of soil sampling and analysis, monitoring, reporting, and verification. As a non-profit, ESMC will not charge more than is required to cover the expenses associated with generating the ecosystem service outcomes for farmers. 

The validation of ESMC’s quantification approaches is based on peer–reviewed research specific to each EcoHarvest program region. This ensures that model performance is informed by data and scientific demonstration for each of the conservation practices and production systems. These program regions were defined based on shared agroecological zones and characteristics. 

ESMC is committed to using strong, peer reviewed science when developing protocols and quantification techniques to provide confidence and trust to both sellers and buyers of agricultural ecosystem services. The market program is both science- and outcomes-based, following International Standards Organization (ISO) approaches for protocol development. ESMC’s EcoHarvest program, protocols, and resulting outcomes are aligned with the relevant standards for each market, such as the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol guidance for the Scope 3 corporate reporting market. 

ESMC relies on the latest available knowledge and technologies to quantify the recognized ecosystem service benefits resulting from conservation practices. For carbon, GHG, and water quality outcomes, process-based models are used to quantify the dynamic biogeochemical and hydrological interactions that occur within agricultural soils and systems. The models are validated on a region-by-region and production system-specific basis to account for the different agronomic and ecological systems of the continental United States. The models were originally developed at public land-grant universities and have been used in hundreds of peer reviewed studies. 

ESMC’s EcoHarvest program is science-based, outcomes-based and creates Scope 3 (supply chain) outcomes from farms.

On-farm greenhouse gas reductions and removals generated by ESMC’s Eco-Harvest program, prior to sale and purchase by corporations to help meet their annual scope 3 accounting and reporting requirements, are fully validated and verified through global 3^rd party SustainCERT. SustainCERT, like all independent third-party carbon and ecosystem services market program registries, requires program transparency of the validation and verification of our program and outcomes, and all public-facing protocol documents are posted as required on SustainCERT’s website.

Additionally, ESMC’s protocol summary is available on our website.