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 | The primary buyers include food and beverage processors, manufacturers and retailers. Corporate partners and buyers can also buy credits to offset their own emissions. The program focus is on scope 3 insetting, and companies can co-invest and co-share in generating carbon credits. |
| Payment Basis to Farmers | Producer price = buyer price - ESMC cost |
| 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. |
| 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? | No, but must provide proof of credit ownership rights |
| 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 | |
| Payment Calculator |
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Program information was validated by a program representative in September 2022.
For additional details, visit the Eco-Harvest by ESMC’s website