Question: Can a producer see the results of the soil sample? Answer: Yes, producers who have soil sampling conducted by Earth Optics will receive access to their online portal with heat maps and can request the raw lab data.
Question: Does the producer have to pay for soil sampling? Answer: No, soil sampling comes at no cost to the producer.
Question: What is a producer’s responsibility during the soil sampling process? Answer: The soil sampler will contact the producer to schedule soil sampling; the producer has no responsibility during the soil sampling process. ESMC or a partner organization will contract with the soil sampler.
Question: When does soil sampling occur? Answer: Soils are sampled one time over the length of the contract. While unlikely, ESMC is considering sampling soils after 5 years. Soils are sampled in the project’s first year between planting and before significant growth. In unique circumstances, ESMC may sample after harvest and before the ground freezes.
Question: What if, a few years ago a producer tried an ESMC-approved practice change and did not maintain it, can the producer still enroll with this practice change? Answer: The producer may be eligible to enroll with this practice change but should discuss the specifics with the project representative or contact ESMC for additional clarification.
Question: What if a producer has cover cropped a field for many years and changes their cover crop mix – would they be eligible to enroll in the program? Answer: No, unfortunately changing the cover crop mix will not make a producer eligible to join Eco-Harvest.
Question: If a producer cover crops their corn, or other crop, does the producer have to use the same mix and/or type of cover crops the next time the crop is grown in the rotation? Answer: No, producers can change their cover crop mix.
Question: What happens if a commodity/cash crop or cover crop fails? Answer: ESMC understands there are many reasons a crop can fail and therefore not be harvested. In this event there is no penalty to the producer and the producer is still active in the program. However, the failure of the commodity/cash or cover crop may impact the number of credits generated and therefore impact the producer’s payment.
Question: What if two producers co-own the land, how do they enroll in the program? Answer: ESMC recommends that these producers enroll under one entity, either one individual or separately.
How do I change a producer’s enrollment Question: I created a producer but marked the wrong enrollment year. How do I change the producer’s enrollment year? Answer: A producer’s enrollment can be adjusted but currently, this feature will only be available for producers without any existing data. Producers with a single empty enrollment year are able to be moved to a different enrollment year. All other producers will show this…