December 2025 ESMC Newsletter
Advancing EcoHarvest
As we close out 2025, we’re grateful to the members, partners, and producers who make EcoHarvest possible. Thank you for your support of our programming and projects.
This year, we advanced innovations to improve farmer ROI, streamline ecosystem crediting, and unlock new market opportunities that strengthen agricultural sustainability and supply chain resiliency.
In mid-2025, we welcomed Matt Starr as an EcoHarvest Advisor, expanding our field expertise and direct engagement with producers. His work focuses on translating science into prescriptive agronomic plans that deliver measurable carbon, water quality, and biodiversity outcomes. Just this month, Matt visited EcoHarvest farmers in Kansas to talk through program successes, opportunities for improvement, and planning for the 2026 growing season.
We also advanced tools that enable stacked ecosystem outcomes, including the launch of the ESMC Pollution Load Estimation Tool (PLET) for water quality, completion of the biodiversity quantification framework (launching in early 2026), and development of new water quantity methods planned for 2026. Together, these tools connect on-farm practices to tangible ecosystem outcomes. Read more about these and other EcoHarvest offerings, as well as updated programmatic statistics, on our new EcoHarvest website.
Looking Ahead to 2026
We are building the future of co-investment, enabling multiple partners to share value and risk while rewarding producers for verified impact. This shared-value model is central to our mission: ensuring that every stakeholder, from the farmer to the retailer- benefits from advancing regenerative agriculture.
As our CEO Ryan Tregaskes shared, ESMC’s 2026 vision is to:
- Strengthen the data backbone of regenerative agriculture
- Empower producers through market-based incentives
- Deliver expanded verified outcomes that corporate partners can trust
- Drive market direction, not react to it
The upcoming year will focus on turning this vision into reality, to build the infrastructure, partnerships, and trust required to scale ecosystem markets that reward stewardship and deliver measurable and meaningful impact. We look forward to sharing more about ESMC and EcoHarvest through our recently launched blog series.
Thank you for your support, ideas, enthusiasm, and feedback throughout the year. We look forward to a productive and busy 2026.
From Field to Watershed: Scientific Foundations of Watershed Models and the Evolution of ESMC’s PLET Tool
On January 26, Dr. Matthew Helmers of Iowa State University will break down how watershed models connect on-farm practices to real water-quality outcomes—and why nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus move differently across regions. He’ll also share a scientific perspective on ESMC’s PLET and how that insight is helping guide its continued improvement. Tapasya Babu, ESMC’s Research Scientist, will co-host the conversation and walk through how the PLET model puts this science to work at scale for quantifying agricultural best management practices.
📅 11 am ET on January 26, 2025
Meet ESMC Team Members at Upcoming Events
We’re pleased to share that ESMC leadership and researchers will be attending the following upcoming events to close out 2025. Please let us know if you’ll also attend and wish to set up a time to meet.
National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) Annual Meeting
San Antonio, Texas, February 15-19
NACD’s Annual Meeting is the premier event for leaders in conservation. This year marks the organization’s 80th anniversary, and it’s shaping up to be a truly special gathering of conservation leaders from across the country, where conservation district officials and employees, partners, producers, and policymakers will meet to focus on advancing voluntary, locally led conservation. ESMC’s Senior Research Manager, Tapasya Babu, will provide a 60-minute presentation on “Developing Tools to Quantify Water Quality and Biodiversity Outcomes for Ecosystem Services Markets”. Read more and register.
Recent News in Regenerative Ag
Trump Administration Launches Regenerative Agriculture Pilot
Civil Eats (December 10)
Conservation experts say the initiative will succeed only if the administration similarly invests in conservation technical assistance and staff. Read the full article.
Food Will Be More Affordable — If We Double Funds for Agriculture Research Now
Nature (December 9)
A global drop in public and private investment in agricultural science in the past four decades is partly to blame for high food prices, an analysis reveals. Read the full article.
The Future of Farming Depends on Supporting Young Farmers
Fast Company (December 8)
As a new generation steps forward, regenerative organic agriculture offers a blueprint for a more resilient, hopeful food system. Read the full article.
Federally Funded Research: A Good Investment
Science Society CSA News (November 21)
Federal funding from institutions like the USDA enables countless services to researchers and stakeholders alike. In the beginning of 2025, however, federal departments faced widespread efforts to reorganize staff, limit spending, and freeze or even terminate grants that had been distributed to public researchers. As Congress debates funding for American ag, members and associates of the Societies raise stories highlighting the importance of federal science funding, not just for research, but for farmers themselves. Read the full article.
Food Companies Are Reframing Net-Zero Around Resilience as Climate Disruption Focuses Market
AgFunderNews (November 20)
If resilience is the watchword for 2025, transformation must be top of the agenda for 2026 – with clearer targets, accountable ownership, and credible delivery plans to match. Read the full article.
De-Risking Regen Ag: Why Reforms to the U.S. Farm Safety Net Are Crucial
AgTechNavigator (November 20)
Is the U.S. farm safety net putting regenerative agriculture at a disadvantage? Read the full article.
Better Bread and Booze Start with Healthier Soil
The Washington Post (November 17)
Bakers, distillers and brewers are looking for grains grown with old-school techniques that help the planet and bring more flavor into your plate or glass. Read the full article.
Unlocking Nature Markets: How Environmental Credits Can Power Regenerative Farming
World Economic Forum (November 11)
Regenerative agriculture can reduce the food system’s environmental footprint and increase its resilience but farmers, who are central to the shift, often lack capital and incentives for widespread adoption. Alongside other support, biodiversity and other environmental credits can unlock new revenue for farmers by rewarding them for restoring nature, making regenerative agriculture more commercially viable. Read the full article.
