The short answer. Soil carbon has to be sampled at the same point in the year for the change between years to be real, and it has to be measured every year for a bad year to show up while the fix is still cheap. Our sampling window runs through autumn and winter. The 2026 window is open now and closes at the end of February 2027. Miss it and your baseline is delayed by a year, with sampling beginning again in autumn 2027.
Reviewed by David Wright, founder and CEO of Ecometric. Last reviewed September 2026.
Why the same point in the year
Soil carbon has to be sampled at the same point in the year for the change to be real. So every round on your farm is taken in the same window, timed around your cropping, and compared with a baseline taken in that same window.
The autumn–winter window
Our sampling window runs through autumn and winter, timed around your cropping, with sampling access arranged around your operations. Your report shows the change against your own baseline, field by field, with the accuracy stated. How the measurement itself is done is covered in how soil carbon is measured.
Why every year, not every five
Soil carbon loss is invisible. It does not appear in a yield map, a soil test or a set of accounts. It appears in a poor season, as yield loss you cannot explain, and by then decline may have been running for years, slow enough to miss and hidden by artificial inputs. Measured every year, a bad year shows up in that year, while the fix is a rotation change rather than a rebuild. Measured every five years, it shows up when it is structural.
Every year without measurement is a year of decisions made without knowing which way the soil is going. The risk does not stay still while you wait. It compounds.
A justifiable analogy for annual soil carbon monitoring as a proxy for soil health is an annual blood-pressure check as a proxy for cardiovascular health. Each aims to proactively identify and correct decline at an early stage, before symptoms emerge.
David Wright, chief executive, Ecometric
Our 5-year UK dataset has now clearly identified a relationship between soil carbon change and crop yield. Two droughts fell inside those five years. The fields that held their carbon held their yield, and that could only be seen because the same fields were measured in the same window each year.
What happens if you miss the window
Your baseline will be delayed by a year, with sampling beginning again in autumn 2027. That is a year of decisions made without knowing which way the soil is going.
How the year runs
- Set up. Your SBI number and a short call to agree field boundaries and sampling access.
- Baseline. Soil sampling and satellite imagery in the autumn–winter window set your starting point, field by field.
- Annual measurement. We sample and analyse again each year in the same window, timed around your cropping.
- Your report. Change against your own baseline, with the accuracy stated.
- On request. Emissions reporting when your supply chain asks for it, and registry submission when there is demand for insets or offsets, with credits issued for each tonne sequestered after greenhouse gas emissions are deducted. Every round is already measured to full Registry standard, so neither means starting again.
Questions we are asked about timing
Can you sample in spring instead?
Soil carbon has to be sampled at the same point in the year for the change to be real. If you join now, your baseline is taken in this window and each annual round follows in the same one.
Why not measure every five years, like a carbon project?
Because the measurement is the core value, not the credit. Annual measurement is what lets you manage risk and reduce yield variability in the year it matters. If a credit market opens that is worth your while, the annual history is already there and compliant. A carbon credit is the cherry on top.
How do I get into this season?
Send us your SBI number and your hectares and we will send a written quote within two working days. Minimum project area is 150 hectares. Get a quote.
Part of our guide to soil carbon measurement for farms. Related: how soil carbon is measured · what 150 hectares means in practice · for farmers.
