BEHIND CARBON DATA VERIFICATION

Third-party data verification can increase profits from carbon programs.

- Chelsea Dinterman

Many farmers understand the substantial data required to enroll in a carbon program. Programs are tracking everything including how and when crops are planted and routine soil sample results. However, how that data is used beyond the farm can be a little less clear.

Most voluntary carbon programs get farmer data verified by a third party such as SCS Global Services. This gives the data more value and legitimizes carbon offsets sold by the programs.

"Without verification, there's not a lot of credibility, and the carbon space is new with a lot of different approaches," says. Kevin Warner, a director of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) certification and strategy at SCS Global Services. "In agriculture, there's a lot more variability than in other nature-based carbon sequestration spaces such as planting trees. A tree is more permanent than a cover crop, so in agriculture, farmers need good data that's validated or verified by an expert."