Farmers & Ranchers

Our Program

Eco-Harvest, our national ecosystem services market program pays farmers and ranchers for quantified, verified, certified, and outcomes-based soil carbon, net greenhouse gases, water quality and water conservation credits generated from regenerative agricultural practices. The program is currently operating through projects across the country in which we are generating and selling credits to meet existing market demand. Our program is operating in most major cropping and livestock systems.

The Eco-Harvest market program allows enrolled farmers and ranchers to undertake a journey to improved resilience, climate change mitigation, and improved environmental outcomes in a program that pays and recognizes them for their services.

Through Eco-Harvest, we generate multiple “stacked” credits in our program, going beyond the benefits of improving soil carbon and reducing greenhouse gases. The same land stewardship practices that impact soil carbon and greenhouse gas emissions often have additional benefits, including improved water quality and water conservation, as well as biodiversity benefits such as habitat for pollinators, insects, and birds. Our market program rewards farmers and ranchers for all these benefits, not just carbon credits.

ESMC’s science-based standards-based protocols are being tested and refined in projects with our members today and are undergoing certification by independent standard-setting organizations.

ESMC’s 34 Producer Circle Members serve as an in-house focus group and advisory committee on program delivery, including development of outreach materials and program operations. The Producer Circle is vitally important to provide farmer and rancher input while pilot testing ESMC’s innovative program.

We are committed to making racial justice, equality, equity, inclusion, a celebration of Pride, and diversity a central part of our focus, our work, our communications, and our conversations. Read more about our inclusion and racial justice work.

What You Can Do

We are testing our entire program with member organizations, operating currently in key production regions and systems over half of the continental US through pilot projects. These projects allow members and producers a unique opportunity to test new innovations, contribute to critical research projects, and provide input into market program development to guide ESMC’s program development – all while generating saleable ecosystem service credits that are being bought and sold in our market program. In essence, these participants are kicking the tires of our program and helping improve it.

Currently, ESMC is only launching projects within specific regions and production systems for which our program buildout has been completed. ESMC’s map continues to expand as ESMC adds more regions and production systems. Read more about program eligibility here.

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