About Us

The Ecosystem Services Market Consortium LLC (ESMC) was formed in May 2019 and is a subsidiary of the Soil Health Institute. ESMC’s mission is to advance ecosystem service markets that incentivize farmers and ranchers to improve soil health systems that benefit society. ESMC LLC is a member-based organization launching a national scale ecosystem services market for agriculture to recognize and reward farmers and ranchers for their environmental services to society. ESMC members represent the spectrum of the agricultural sector supply chain with whom we are scaling sustainable agricultural sector outcomes, including increased soil carbon, reduced net greenhouse gases, and improved water quality and water use conservation.

• We’re a non-profit that brings together a broad consortium of companies, agricultural producer associations and non-governmental organizations.
• Our goal is a voluntary, national market to sell credits for greenhouse gas reduction as well as water quality and quantity for the agriculture sector by 2022.

• Ecosystem Services is simply conservation work that we can and should pay for. The term “ecosystem services” recognizes that people who work for a stable climate and water conservation are performing vital services for everyone.

• Non-profit: We want to maximize environmental impact by delivering as much of the market value back to farmers and ranchers as possible and accelerate growth of the market.
• Scientific rigor: We will ensure that our protocols have the strongest scientific basis possible to provide confidence and trust for both sellers and buyers of agricultural ecosystem assets.
• Multiple markets: We are not a carbon credit-only initiative. Greenhouse gas impacts are fundamental, but land stewardship practices can deliver other benefits like water quantity and quality improvements, enhancement of habitat, and protection of biodiversity.
• Outcomes, not practices: Our protocols measure outcomes on farms and ranches. We do not require any specific practices or set of practices but allow producers flexibility to manage their operations in ways that work best for them.

• Developing technology and protocols to measure and verify the benefits working farms and ranches generate.
• Working with members and outside organizations to review and certify our protocols.
• Funding research into the science and technology of measuring the environmental impacts of farmers’ and ranchers’ land stewardship practices.
• Collaborating with ESMC members on pilot projects to test and refine our protocols and tools in the next 3 years.
• ESMC’s research arm, the Ecosystem Services Market Research Consortium –ESMRC – is investing in Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment to bring market forces to bear on soil and water issues.

Why? Soil health is paramount to the future agriculture. It maintains ecosystem function, sustains plant and animal communities and creates critical ecological and natural resource impacts that benefit society. Improved water quality, water use conservation, biodiversity, and pollinator and wildlife habitat can all follow when the soil is tended to. With approximately 70% of U.S. land in private ownership, America’s farmers and ranchers are key to creating solutions to address challenges to our nation’s natural resources.