Eco-Harvest by ESMC

ESMC is a non-profit that works to compensate farmers and ranchers who improve the environment through their agricultural practices. ESMC has 60+ members across the entire agriculture and supply value chain who have committed to buy credits generated. The Eco-Harvest program is an insetting program, where credits are sold within the agricultural supply chain.

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Year Organization Established a Carbon Program The Eco-Harvest market program launched in May 2022. ESMC had pilots running since 2019.
Affiliated Organization Type Non-profit, major Ag and commodity groups
Affiliated Organizations Partners include Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO), and AgTech companies, CME price discovery
Buyers secured
Payment Basis to Farmers  Producer price = buyer price - ESMC cost $/MTCO2e
Payment Amount and Details ESMC arranges sale, buyers purchase through the program and ESMC deducts a cost-recovery fee for its role in generating the credits First payments are received following the conclusion of the first growing season registered and completed
Agricultural System Focus Cropland (corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa, sorghum, and oats), Livestock
Eligible States Participating regions include all of the U.S. except for select parts of the Western Range, New England, and Southeastern Coastal.
Eligible Practices Cover cropping, tillage reduction, nutrient management, cropland grazing, and conservation cropping rotation.   Supported crops include corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa, and oats. More than ten crops, including some with limited support in select regions (i.e., corn in the Pacific Northwest) are currently in the pilot stage. ESMC is expanding program to include tree fruits, nuts, and other specialty crops.
Contract Length 5 years
Contract Details Producer must enact eligible practice change(s) for the first time when enrolling. According to Privacy Policy, ESMC does not sell producer data.
Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) Enrollment occurs through ESMC’s online producer portal Data on farming operations can be imported from other third-party platforms or entered directly by the producer.
Digital Tools for MRV Enrollment occurs through ESMC’s online producer portal Data on farming operations can be imported from other third-party platforms or entered directly by the producer.
Qualification/eligibility criteria Producer must enact eligible practice change(s) for the first time when enrolling. Eligible production systems include conventional, regenerative, and organic. Livestock operations that require a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit are not eligible. Producers do not have to pay fees or purchase subscriptions or inputs to participate in Eco-Harvest.
Minimum Acreage No minimum or maximum acreage requirements apply.
Must land be owned?
Minimum Data Requirements Cropland:
  • species/rotation, yield.
  • Tillage: dates, type.
  • Irrigation: method,
  • source, schedule/frequency, rate.
  • Drainage: percent
  • tiled, tile depth.
  • Residue management:
  • percent covered, OpTis satellite-derived datasets.
  • Cover crops: species,
  • establishment success, dates.
  • Conservation
  • practices: multiple inputs for each practice (date installed, size, etc.).
  • Non-manure
  • fertilizer: type, rate, nutrient content, method, dates.
  • Manure fertilizer:
  • source, type, rate, nutrient content.
  • Operation: planting,
  • harvesting, cutting/baling, burning.
  • Grazing: head,
  • hours/days, additional feed.
    • Years of management practice data needed
    Does the program pay for past practices?
    Additional information
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    For additional details, visit the Eco-Harvest by ESMC’s website