ESMC’s Eco-Harvest Market Program Awarded Ag Data Transparent Certification

Ag Data Transparent Certification underscores Eco-Harvest’s commitment to transparent program operations that protect producer data

(December 19, 2023) Ecosystem Services Market Consortium’s (ESMC) Eco-Harvest program earned Ag Data Transparent (ADT) certification from Ag Data Transparency Evaluator, Inc., – the industry’s only not-for-profit focused on providing transparency, simplicity, and trust between farmers and their ag tech providers. Eco-Harvest’s commitment to trust and transparency in our market program is showcased through ADT certification.

To earn certification, ESMC submitted Eco-Harvest producer contracts to ADT for review and approval. ESMC created Eco-Harvest to cost-effectively and sustainably finance scaled solutions to reduce agriculture’s greenhouse gas (GHG) and environmental footprint while also increasing agricultural resilience and regenerative agricultural system outcomes. The program recognizes and pays producers for the public benefits resulting from environmental stewardship on private lands. ESMC’s Eco-Harvest market program is designed to work first and foremost for producers, and ADT certification highlights that data collected on the farm through Eco-Harvest is protected and used to benefit producers.

The ADT certification effort began in 2014, led by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) due to producer concerns about the variety of new ag data products and programs in the market. AFBF worked with representatives of farm commodity groups and private and public sector stakeholders to draft The Privacy and Security Principles for Farm Data (aka, Core Principles). These Core Principles represent basic guidelines that ag tech providers should follow when collecting, using, storing, and transferring farmers’ ag data.

This is the latest milestone for ESMC’s Eco-Harvest market program which was validated and verified according to the Value Change Initiative Guidance in 2022 by SustainCERT. Validation and verification provide assurance that the GHG impacts from ESMC’s interventions are aligned with annual Scope 3 GHG inventory reporting for corporations in the food, beverage and related supply chain – which in turn allows Eco-Harvest to undergo more streamlined annual verification.

Debbie Reed, ESMC Executive Director said: “Ecosystem markets are data driven and ultimately require farmer and rancher data to show the benefits of their stewardship and actions. Earning ADT certification for our program shows ESMC’s commitment to transparency and to protecting producer data and data privacy. Producer trust and an understanding of the value of producer data are inherent in the certification process. ADT certification provides greater certainty for producers and for buyers, showing Eco-Harvest takes great responsibility and care with their data.”