The short answer. Soil carbon testing is a flat rate per hectare, set by the tier you choose. Per hectare, it is a fraction of what you spend on nitrogen each year. We do not publish a rate card. Send us your SBI number and your hectares and we will send a written quote within two working days.
Reviewed by David Wright, founder and CEO of Ecometric. Last reviewed September 2026.
What you are paying for
The measurement is the same in every tier.
- Real soil samples on every farm we monitor, analysed by dry combustion in an ISO-accredited laboratory. Nothing is estimated from a list of practices you say you follow.
- Satellite imagery tied to those samples by our AI at 100 readings a hectare – a value every 10 metres – giving a map and a more accurate field total rather than a list of sample results.
- The error, measured against samples the AI never saw, then deducted in full.
- Your report: change against your own baseline, field by field, with the accuracy stated.
Every round is measured the same way whichever tier you are on. The tier decides what we do with it, so you are never paying for a service you have not asked for.
What the price depends on
Pricing depends on the tier you choose. It is a flat rate per hectare, the same whatever the size of your holding.
The tiers
One measurement, three tiers. Measure is SOC monitoring: annual soil carbon measurement, field by field, against your own baseline, with the accuracy stated. Report is emissions reporting, added when your supply chain asks for it: a full IPCC Tier II emissions calculation, reported to the standards your buyers’ auditors will use from 2027 – both sides of the ledger, what the farm emits and what it removes. Access is credit origination, added when there is real demand for insets or offsets: a registry-accredited project, verified removals issued in your name for each tonne sequestered after greenhouse gas emissions are deducted, sold on your terms and commission-free.
We have separated measurement from reporting, so you are not paying for a carbon project you may not need yet. Registry submission is held back until there is direct demand for insets or offsets. That brings the cost of monitoring down while leaving the option to trade open.
Questions to ask about any quote
- Are physical samples taken on my farm on every round, or is my result modelled from a practice checklist? We take real soil samples on every farm we monitor.
- Is the accuracy stated on the report, and is the error deducted? Ours is: the error is measured against samples the AI never saw, then deducted in full.
- Who owns the data if I stop? You do. If you stop working with us you take your baseline and every measurement with you.
We charge for the work, never a commission on your carbon, so our advice is not biased by what earns us more.
A standard soil test or soil carbon measurement?
You already test for P, K and pH. You know your fields are varied. A standard soil test averages all of that into one number, and the variation disappears.
- A standard soil test reports pH, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium for a sample. It guides this season’s lime and fertiliser.
- Soil carbon measurement reports the change in soil organic carbon stock against your own baseline, field by field, from dry combustion in an ISO-accredited laboratory and satellite imagery at 100 readings a hectare, with the accuracy stated. It shows which of your practices are working and catches decline while you can still act.
The minimum and how invoicing works
- The minimum project area is 150 hectares, so you don’t have to baseline your whole farm when you start.
- Invoicing is split into four payments, due on contract signature, data collection, soil sampling and lab analysis, and report delivery.
- Soil carbon has to be sampled at the same point in the year for the change to be real. The 2026 autumn–winter sampling window is open until the end of February 2027. Miss it and your baseline will be delayed by a year.
How to get your quote
Send us your SBI number and your hectares and we will send a written quote within two working days. Get a quote.
Questions we are asked about the cost
Do you quote per hectare or per acre?
Per hectare, the unit the Rural Payments Agency uses for the land parcels behind your SBI number. One hectare is 2.47 acres, so the 150-hectare minimum is about 370 acres.
Do I have to sell carbon credits?
No. Credits are the Access tier, added when there is real demand for insets or offsets. Every round is measured to full Registry standard whichever tier you are on, so stepping up later is a decision rather than starting again.
How often is the farm sampled?
Every year, timed around your cropping, against your own baseline. A bad year shows up in that year, while the fix is still cheap, not five years later when it is structural.
What does the measurement give me beyond a number?
Which practices held the soil, and which cost you, in that year’s weather, so you can correct it while the fix is a rotation change rather than a rebuild. Across our monitoring programmes we are seeing an emerging relationship between soil organic carbon stock change and yield stability – see soil organic carbon and yield: what five annual monitoring cycles are showing.
Is there a whole-farm requirement?
No. The minimum project area is 150 hectares, so you don’t have to baseline your whole farm. Field boundaries are agreed on a short call at set-up.
More on what a farmer gets from a measured round: For Farmers. How the measurement works: Leading With Science.
Part of our guide to soil carbon measurement for farms. Related: soil carbon testing for your farm · what 150 hectares means in practice · how soil carbon is measured · why once a year.
