Why USDA’s Regenerative Push and EcoHarvest Work Better Together

By Doug Adams, Sr. Manager of Partnerships 

A Big Win: USDA Puts $700 Million Behind Regenerative Practices

USDA’s new $700 million Regenerative Pilot Program is a clear signal that regenerative agriculture is no longer niche. The program is designed to help U.S. farmers adopt practices that improve soil health, enhance water quality, and boost long-term productivity while strengthening the country’s food and fiber supply. 

Administered through NRCS, the pilot weaves existing EQIP and CSP funds into one unified offering, making it easier for farmers to enroll in cover crops, reduced tillage, nutrient management, and other regenerative practices under a single, streamlined process.

That is a major win. It lowers upfront risk and recognizes that regenerative practices deliver real public benefits. But there is an important limitation: USDA is primarily paying for practices, not for the full value of the environmental outcomes those practices generate. Once the cost-share check is written, much of the continuing value created on the land is not compensated. 

That is where ESMC’s EcoHarvest program comes in.

The Gap: Outcomes vs. Practices

Federal programs help farmers adopt regenerative systems. EcoHarvest helps farmers get paid for what those systems deliver year after year.

ESMC’s EcoHarvest program is a voluntary, farmer-first market platform that turns measured environmental outcomes into saleable assets for corporate buyers and supply chain partners. 

Using accredited, science-based MRV, EcoHarvest issues quantified and verified outcomes for: 

• Increased soil carbon (removals) 

• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions (reductions) 

• Improved water quality 

• Additional ecosystem benefits, like biodiversity, for specific projects. 

In other words, EcoHarvest offers payments for outcomes, not just practices. Farmers who enroll only in practice-based programs risk leaving money on the table: the same acre that receives USDA support for adopting a practice can often also generate outcome-based credits in voluntary markets. 

No Need to Choose: Stacking USDA Support and EcoHarvest

Critically, farmers do not have to choose between the Regenerative Pilot Program and EcoHarvest. The programs are designed to be complementary:

• USDA helps cover the cost of adopting regenerative practices.

• EcoHarvest helps farmers monetize the outcomes those practices generate over time through market-based payments.

For eligible acres, not enrolling in voluntary markets like EcoHarvest means leaving a second revenue stream on the table—especially as more corporate buyers seek high-quality Scope 3 and water outcomes from U.S. sourcing regions.

Proof in the Field: EcoHarvest at Work

Since 2020, ESMC and its research arm, ESMRC, have moved from pilots to multi-year, at-scale projects that pay farmers for verified outcomes while strengthening supply chain resilience. 

A few examples: 

• Scaling Kansas-grown Regenerative Wheat with an Award-winning Retail and CPG partnership 
  ESMC’s ongoing partnerships with General Mills and Ahold Delhaize USA continue to leverage our collective investments and generate shared outcomes. By creating opportunities for co-investing in regenerative agricultural solutions, producers win, corporations win, and consumers win. 

• Financing Regenerative Transitions for Southern Cotton Farmers
  In partnership with the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, Manulife Investment Management, and the Cotton Foundation, EcoHarvest is helping a cohort of cotton farmers in the Southeast transition to regenerative practices and earn carbon, GHG, and water-related credits – expanding access to ecosystem markets in historically underserved regions. 

• Discovering Small Grains and Native Habitat synergies in the Great Plains
  With the United Sorghum Checkoff Program, EcoHarvest is enabling sorghum farmers to generate high-quality carbon, GHG, water quality, and biodiversity credits – showing how a single acre can support climate, water, and habitat goals while creating new income for farmers. 

Across these projects, EcoHarvest has already delivered six-figure outcome payments to participating farmers and demonstrated that voluntary markets can function as a repeatable income stream, not a one-time grant. 

Excitement, Questions, and the Path Forward

Within the regenerative agriculture community, USDA’s new pilot is broadly welcomed as a sign that soil health and regenerative systems are finally being recognized at the national level. At the same time, independent analyses point out that the initiative largely repackages existing EQIP and CSP dollars into a priority pool rather than adding substantial new funding and raises questions about long-term stability and scale. 

In this context, EcoHarvest’s role is clear: 

• Leverage public investment that helps farmers adopt regenerative practices. 

• Add a durable, market-funded layer of payments for the verified outcomes those practices deliver. 

• Reduce money left on the table by helping farmers access voluntary markets alongside public support. 

If you are a farmer exploring regenerative practices, or a buyer or supply chain partner looking for credible, U.S.-based Scope 3 and water outcomes, now is the moment to act. 

Learn more about EcoHarvest, our farmer-first, outcome-based model, and how dual enrollment with USDA’s Regenerative Pilot Program can support your operation and your supply chain when it is needed most.