“It breaks my heart a little.”

That’s how Dr. Paige Stanley, PhD described it on the Savory Institute Ruminations pod a few months back...and I get it.

She shares how in most soil carbon crediting systems, a ranch has to demonstrate a new practice change to qualify. That means many of the original regenerative managers, who have been doing this the longest, such as the holistic managers, the Ranching for Profit alum, and the educators and practitioners, are at a disadvantage or often left out entirely.

It’s something I initially, and still, struggle with as I’ve worked to try to understand the different crediting mechanisms of this market. These are the people who have trained others, proven the model, and rebuilt soil health long before carbon markets emerged; however, because they made the change “too early,” their work is ineligible under certain standards.

But in searching for the ideal additionality case, that narrow sweet spot where a ranch is considering a shift but hasn’t yet, I keep coming back to one opportunity:
The most compelling model for rewarding regenerative management operations may be supporting their expansion.

When a regenerative grazier grows their operation by leasing, buying, or custom grazing, they typically introduce proven practices to new ground that has likely not been managed this way before. That’s a measurable shift. And I believe it’s one of the clearest scenarios to document and reward quality practice change. I hope this can be a framework that empowers that base.