A Platform for Measuring Soil Organic Carbon Accurately and Affordably: Our Investment in Yard Stick PBC
As countries, organizations, and companies pursue ambitious decarbonization targets, the interest in soil carbon projects has surged. Despite these clear demand signals, delivering high-quality and accurate projects to market is hindered by a lack of robust, affordable, scalable measurement and verification. On a positive note, there is an increasing number of players in the space seeking to develop cost-effective tools and exploring new business models to overcome these barriers.
One of nature’s largest carbon sinks is soil — it currently stores about three times the amount of carbon stored in living plants and double that in the atmosphere. Furthermore, according to the International 4 per 1000 Initiative, if the level of carbon stored by soils in the top 30 to 40 centimeters of soil increased by 0.4% per year, the annual increase of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere would be significantly reduced. However, efforts to utilize soil carbon sequestration have been significantly hampered by the complexity and cost of measuring soil organic carbon (SOC) — which is why we are excited to announce Toyota Ventures’ investment in Yard Stick through our Climate Fund. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Yard Stick’s mission is to unlock the potential of soils for gigaton-scale carbon sequestration.
The fundamental challenge with measuring SOC is that not all soils are equal, and not all soils can store carbon at the same rate. Soil carbon sequestration is governed by a variety of factors, including soil type, rainfall and temperature, management techniques, and other location-specific details. Conventional sampling and laboratory analysis has historically been the preferred method of measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) of soil carbon sequestration due to its maturity and familiarity within the soil science community. That comes at a steep price though, on average up to $25-$75 per soil sample.
This need for affordable measurement and improved analytical rigor is where Yard Stick’s in situ soil carbon measurement technology and data platform come into play. Yard Stick was founded in 2021 by CEO Chris Tolles and CTO Kevin Meissner — both experienced entrepreneurs with a successful track record. Kevin also has extensive experience in the carbon sequestration space, having co-founded Charm Industrial, a bio-oil carbon sequestration platform that recently raised $100M in a Series B funding round. Other members of Yard Stick’s scientific advisory team include renowned soil scientists Dr. Cristine Morgan, who led much of the original academic research intospectroscopy for soil carbon, and Dr. Jason Ackerson. Both are now a part of the Soil Health Institute (SHI), but their work has provided the company decades of soil carbon measurement expertise. Yard Stick and SHI also received a $3.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E program in 2020 and have been working together to commercialize the technology since.
“While there is consensus regarding soil’s tremendous capability to sequester carbon, there is a lack of unanimity concerning which farming methods work and to what degree, which is largely due to challenges with measurement. Robust MRV solutions such as Yard Stick will be critical to realization of the full potential of soil carbon projects in reaching decarbonization targets. We look forward to supporting Yard Stick’s team in their mission to address the complexity of measuring soil organic carbon accurately and affordably.”
—Lisa Coca, partner, Toyota Ventures Climate Fund
Through Yard Stick’s handheld hardware and data platform, the company has the potential to reduce the cost of measuring soil carbon by more than 90 percent. This significant reduction in measurement costs and enhanced analytical precision is essential to enhancing confidence in the quality of soil carbon credits and other soil carbon climate solutions relying on robust MRV. For projects selling credits, Yard Stick will provide a more precise and transparent measurement of potential carbon sequestration unique to each project location and circumstances. This will enable sellers to fine-tune their strategies, focusing on optimal regions and best practices. Similarly, buyers will experience increased assurance concerning both the quality and quantity of soil carbon removal forming the foundation of their acquired credits.
Yard Stick’s platform helps users collect and analyze SOC from start to finish. First, users upload farm and field boundaries to the company’s web-based planning dashboard and select a project methodology (e.g. CAR SEP, Verra VM0042). This results in automatic stratification of project fields and the creation of an agronomically credible and statistically sound sample plan. Second, the sampling team’s cloud-enabled handheld device collects soil carbon data up to 1 meter in depth, and can even be used with crops standing in the field. Third, the company’s live dashboard displays project measurement data to rapidly understand project progress, quantify stocks and changes, and share this information with key stakeholders, including participating growers, third party verifiers, and offset end customers.
Currently, the company is focused on selling its soil sampling services to project developers, agricultural and food brands, and land managers on a per acre/sampled basis. Eventually, the team plans to transition to more of a data-as-a-service model, which will maximize yield and farmer income in parallel with reduced emissions.
We are proud to support the Yard Stick team as they work to dramatically expand the opportunities for evidence-based, climate-positive agriculture and ranching practices to simultaneously improve ecosystem health, increase farmer/rancher livelihoods, and combat climate change. Toyota Ventures led Yard Stick’s $10.6 million funding round, which includes participation from Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Lowercarbon Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and Pillar VC.
Visit Yard Stick’s website and the Toyota Ventures portfolio page to learn more.
