Merge Impact and EarthOptics Partner to Connect Regenerative Farmers and Food Brands with Verified Soil Health and Mapping Data

Merge Impact, the first and only blockchain-powered agricultural measurement and data solution to connect brands to fully verified regenerative and organic supply chains, announced a multi-year, exclusive blockchain services agreement with EarthOptics, an industry-leading soil data measurement and mapping company. Merge Impact is powered by Chainparency, a leading provider of blockchain technology. The partnership between Merge Impact and EarthOptics further connects regenerative and organic farmers to verified soil carbon outcomes to ensure supply chains have a highly accurate and measurable carbon impact at the field level. Also, brands will have full visibility into the connections between soil outcomes, climate goals, and producer impact through the tools provided by Merge Impact.

The need for carbon-positive, nutrient-dense food production has never been more critical, with the UN predicting a 50% increase in food demand by 2050, when the population is expected to balloon to ten billion. Furthermore, according to scientific estimates, modern agricultural practices have caused a loss of 120 billion tons of soil carbon. However, it is believed that up to 65 billion tons of carbon could be easily restored to the soil through practices such as reduced tillage, better nutrient management, and more accurate feedback from measurement data.

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“The rapid overuse of our soil resources demands we transform how we produce food while supporting the livelihoods of the regenerative and organic farmers who we rely on more than ever,” said Ben Adolph, Merge Impact founder and CEO. “Merge Impact’s partnership with EarthOptics will enable a scalable solution to measuring baselines for supply chains, while Merge Impact’s blockchain-verified data services provide the integrity and opportunity to incentivize more positive change at the field level. Together, we are bringing value back to the producers.”

Today, approximately 28% of farmers are actively implementing practices that reduce their operation’s carbon footprint, and 17% are evaluating their options. Soil health ranks as a concern for 94% of the growers, of which 20% indicate they are extremely concerned with the issue. EarthOptics’ technology delivers high-resolution maps with accurate total field carbon measurements that detect year-over-year changes that demonstrate the carbon sequestered in the soil during a crop season. With Merge Impact, EarthOptics data is securitized on the blockchain, ensuring farmers are able to increase the return on their investment to improve their soil.

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“EarthOptics technology suite offers farmers more soil data insights than ever before,” says Lars Dyrud, EarthOptics CEO. “Our technology quantifies the amount of carbon sequestered – not just an estimation, but total field analysis. It benefits the entire food value chain from new revenue streams for farmers to peace of mind for consumers about the sustainability of their food choices.”

With 56% of consumers indicating they would be more loyal to a brand if they could see at a glance that the company was taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint**, the Merge Impact and EarthOptics partnership makes it possible for brands to reliably demonstrate to consumers their timely, meaningful progress toward their climate commitments.

“There has never been a more crucial time to make changes in how we produce our food, and the vast scale of the food system is key to making a positive change for our future livelihood and the planet,” said Beth Robertson-Martin, Co-Founder and Vice President of Partnership Development at Merge Impact. “The partnership between Merge Impact and EarthOptics provides farmers a roadmap to demonstrate comprehensive and accurate soil measurements that are traceable, verifiable, and credible to brands and consumers.”

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