Frequently asked questions.

Farmers commit to a 5-year programme requiring annual greenhouse gas assessments. During this period, 80% of Soil Capital Units (SCU) can be sold immediately, while the remaining 20% are held in a buffer for 10 years to verify carbon retention through satellite monitoring.

Farmers must complete five essential activities during the programme to maintain eligibility. These include: conducting a baseline analysis and annual GHG balance assessment with mySoilCapital, implementing recommended practices, maintaining complete records of inputs and operations, and cooperating with auditors if selected for verification. The annual assessments help track progress towards Soil Capital Units generation.

Farmers must provide laboratory soil analysis results at the end of the five-year programme and maintain the carbon stored in their soils for 10 years. The retention period follows the initial 5-year programme and ensures the long-term sustainability of carbon sequestration efforts. Satellite monitoring will track key risk factors throughout this period to verify compliance.

The audit process requires farmers to present documentation including invoices, crop rotation data, pesticide declarations, farm management records, and accounting details. All verification is conducted to ensure accuracy and compliance with programme standards. Soil Capital covers all audit costs, so farmers incur no additional charges.

Soil Capital's programme fees vary by region, with France/Belgium farmers paying €600 initially plus €3/ha/year (between €300-€1,000 total annually). UK farmers pay £250 initially plus £3/ha/year (up to £900 maximum). Soil analysis costs are not included in the programme fee. You will need two analyses: one at enrolment (if none in the past 5 years) and another at programme completion. All certification, audit, and Soil Capital Unit sales costs are covered by the standard programme fee with no additional charges.

Yes, you can join our regenerative agriculture programme if your farm size fluctuates, but you must register only the area that will remain under your control for the full five years. The enrolled area cannot increase during the programme period, ensuring consistent carbon measurement and certification.

Yes, you can include rented-out land in the programme if you commit to providing the required operational data for those fields each year. This allows us to calculate the carbon impact of your tenant's farming practices.

No, direct drilling is not a requirement for participation in our regenerative agriculture programme. Our carbon quantification model recognises multiple effective practices for improving soil carbon balance, including organic fertilisation, cover cropping, and minimum tillage approaches.

Yes, farms with long-term direct drilling can participate, but with reduced Soil Capital Units generation potential. According to IPCC science, practices like no-till stop accumulating additional carbon after 20 years of systematic use on more than 50% of your farm area.- Only applies if used systematically (every year)- Only affects farms using these practices on more than 50% of total farm area- In such cases, our programme may provide limited financial benefit

Yes, farms with peat soils can participate, but we exclude fields with organic matter exceeding 10% from the soil health assessment. Our programme works best with mineral soils that have organic matter below 10%, and we suggest having at least 100 hectares of qualifying land for meaningful results.

Farmers must provide geographical field boundaries through our platform and complete a baseline assessment using their most recent harvest data. Additional requirements include accepting terms and conditions (with landlord signatures for short-term tenants) and submitting recent soil organic matter analysis results from the past five years.

You only need to register once if you manage multiple farming entities using the same methods and equipment. Soil Capital treats entities with identical management practices as a single farm, requiring only one registration fee. This applies only when all entities share the same agricultural approach and operational systems.

No, participation in multiple carbon incentive schemes is not permitted. These programmes are designed to reward specific environmental improvements once, preventing double payments for the same ecological benefit. Before joining any scheme, carefully review the terms to understand any exclusivity requirements.

Yes, you can register with Soil Capital even if you're receiving environmental incentives for specific crops. We accommodate crops that are already part of sustainability programmes (such as BAS GES in France), though you cannot receive double compensation for the same environmental benefit. Our system is designed to work alongside existing environmental initiatives.

Yes. If the certification scheme is not a carbon payment scheme, it is compatible with the Soil Capital Carbon scheme.

We are in the process of evaluating whether it makes financial sense for farmers to enrol in the SFI 2022 Standard as well as Soil Capital Carbon, knowing that we would generate carbon payments for you relating only to the farming practices not required by the SFI for you to earn your SFI payments. Please contact us directly to discuss the specifics of your farm.

Payments are processed annually after your monitoring report is delivered. You will receive funds each year for five years.

Your payment is calculated based on greenhouse gas reductions or carbon sequestration compared to a specific baseline. If you're already sequestering carbon, your annual performance will be measured against a fixed regional reference. If you're currently a net emitter, payments will be based on improvements from your own initial assessment, creating an incentive to enhance your practices.

Soil Capital does not guarantee that all Soil Capital Units will be sold. Each unit sold earns farmers at least £23 (based on our floor price commitment of €27.50 per unit at a GBP-EUR exchange rate of 1.2), and farmers always receive 70% of the final sales price regardless of how high it rises. Note that 20% of all units generated are held in a buffer for 10 years and sold later if loss prevention criteria are met.

Your earnings from Soil Capital Units depend directly on your farming practices and sequestration results. Typically, farms store between 0.5 and 2 tonnes of carbon per hectare annually, with guaranteed minimum earnings of £23 per tonne of carbon sequestered. A 200-hectare farm storing 1 tonne of carbon per hectare yearly would generate at least £22,640 over the programme duration.

Yes, you can earn Soil Capital Units by reducing emissions and increasing storage compared to your baseline. You'll receive rewards based on your year-to-year improvements, even if you're not yet sequestering carbon overall.

Your renewal fee can be deducted directly from your first Soil Capital Unit payment if you join from 2024. Each tonne of CO2e reduced or sequestered generates one Soil Capital Unit, with payments distributed every four months based on sales. This convenient option simplifies your administrative process whilst ensuring continuous participation in the programme.

Soil Capital Units represent measurable environmental improvements generated through sustainable farming practices. Unlike carbon credits, these units cannot be used to offset emissions or claim carbon neutrality, but instead allow businesses to demonstrate supply chain improvements or regional environmental contributions. The SustainCERT validation of our methodology in 2025 confirms our approach aligns with the GHG Protocol, enhancing credibility for Scope 3 emissions reporting.

Soil Capital Units are priced at a minimum of £23 each, with a floor price commitment of €27.50 (subject to GBP-EUR exchange rates). This price may increase if market rates rise, with farmers guaranteed the same fixed ratio of the final sales price throughout their commitment period.

The 20% withholding creates a buffer that protects against potential soil carbon losses during the programme. This buffer provides assurance to buyers about the permanence of stored carbon, with units being released from the buffer after the 10th season if no losses occur. Any confirmed losses during audits will be compensated by cancelling the corresponding number of Soil Capital Units from this buffer.

Soil Capital Units are purchased by food and non-food companies seeking to support sustainable agriculture practices. Our preference is to sell units to food companies within your supply chain, allowing them to demonstrate reduced emissions in their agricultural sourcing. Non-supply chain companies can support regional decarbonisation through these units but cannot claim carbon neutrality or emissions offsetting.

No, Soil Capital Units can only be sold through Soil Capital's official channels. Farmers must use Soil Capital as the exclusive marketplace for their Units, though they may refer interested buyers directly to Soil Capital for purchasing arrangements.

Soil Capital manages carbon losses through a buffer system that protects both farmers and environmental integrity. When a loss event occurs (defined as a release of carbon due to management changes exceeding 5% of achieved reductions), we use units from a buffer rather than requiring farmers to return payments. The buffer holds 20% of all generated Soil Capital Units for 10 years as insurance against potential losses.Loss events must meet these criteria:- Result from practices not used in the previous season (except during organic transition)- Be caused by management decisions rather than weather events- Exceed 5% of your total emission reductions achieved in the programmeIf a loss event occurs:- You keep all previously received payments- Units from the buffer cover the carbon release- You must contribute equivalent units before receiving future payments- If no losses occur, buffer units are sold after 10 years and you receive payment

The baseline analysis requires a representative technical itinerary per crop from your most recent completed harvest within the last two years. You'll need to provide information about operation types, equipment used, inputs applied (with quantities), and management practices such as cover crops. Using existing farm management software data will significantly streamline this process.

Soil Capital streamlines data entry by using existing BPS files to automatically identify farm boundaries and crop rotations. We also determine soil characteristics from your location using third-party maps, and work with Farm Management Software systems to accelerate the process whenever possible.

Yes, soil analysis is required to verify your soil conditions and improve our measurement models. You'll need to provide one recent soil organic matter analysis (from the past 5 years) when joining, plus another analysis at the end of your fifth year.

Implementing organic fertilisation, reduced tillage, legumes in rotation, cover cropping, and minimising fuel and synthetic input usage are the most effective practices. These techniques work together to enhance soil structure whilst reducing your environmental impact. Soil Capital can help you measure and optimise these practices for your specific farm conditions.

Permanent grasslands are excluded from GHG calculations in the arable methodology as they require a separate livestock farming assessment. Temporary grasslands, however, are included in the current methodology as crops and contribute to carbon sequestration. We plan to integrate livestock farming methodologies in the future to provide more comprehensive assessments.

Hedgerows, orchards, woodland and forests are not included in your GHG assessment calculations. Our current methodology cannot accurately quantify the sequestration benefits of these landscape features, and we avoid double counting benefits that may already receive subsidies.However, in-field trees planted using agroforestry techniques are fully accounted for in your Soil Capital Units calculations.

No. To date the performance (i.e. the biomass) of cover corps is not included in the GHG balance, only the fact that they have been implemented.

Biogas units are not directly included in your GHG assessment as our methodology focuses solely on field practices and related inputs. The digestate from your biogas unit, however, is accounted for as an input and positively impacts your overall Soil Capital Units generation potential.

Yes, you can still build soil health with these crops in your rotation. These crops often require more intensive tillage, but many farmers achieve good yields with minimum tillage approaches. Soil Capital Units can be generated with these crops, as tillage is just one of several factors that affect soil carbon storage.

Soil Capital charges a fee for mySoilCapital to cover comprehensive farm analysis services, including tool development, data processing, and assessment delivery. We also receive a commission on Soil Capital Units sales to support programme maintenance and audit costs, while ensuring farmers receive 70% of the final sales price.