The two companies are coming together to establish a blockchain-verified universal protocol for agricultural data collection, measurement, and reporting. The resulting data collection standards are designed to ensure integrity and improve communication with farmers, producers, retailers, regulators, and consumers.

MORRISON, Ill. and ARLINGTON, Va., March 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Merge Impact, the first and only blockchain-powered agricultural measurement and data solution to connect brands to fully verified regenerative and organic supply chains, today announced a multi-year, exclusive blockchain services agreement with EarthOptics, an industry-leading soil data measurement and mapping company. Merge Impact is powered by Chainparency, a leading provider of blockchain technology. The partnership between Merge Impact and EarthOptics further connects regenerative and organic farmers to verified soil carbon outcomes to ensure supply chains have a highly accurate and measurable carbon impact at the field level. Also, brands will have full visibility into the connections between soil outcomes, climate goals, and producer impact through the tools provided by Merge Impact.

The need for carbon-positive, nutrient-dense food production has never been more critical, with the UN predicting a 50% increase in food demand by 2050, when the population is expected to balloon to ten billion. Furthermore, according to scientific estimates, modern agricultural practices have caused a loss of 120 billion tons of soil carbon. However, it is believed that up to 65 billion tons of carbon could be easily restored to the soil through practices such as reduced tillage, better nutrient management, and more accurate feedback from measurement data.*

"The rapid overuse of our soil resources demands we transform how we produce food while supporting the livelihoods of the regenerative and organic farmers who we rely on more than ever," said Ben Adolph, Merge Impact founder and CEO. "Merge Impact’s partnership with EarthOptics will enable a scalable solution to measuring baselines for supply chains, while Merge Impact’s blockchain-verified data services provide the integrity and opportunity to incentivize more positive change at the field level. Together, we are bringing value back to the producers.”

Today, approximately 28% of farmers are actively implementing practices that reduce their operation's carbon footprint, and 17% are evaluating their options. Soil health ranks as a concern for 94% of the growers, of which 20% indicate they are extremely concerned with the issue.** EarthOptics' technology delivers high-resolution maps with accurate total field carbon measurements that detect year-over-year changes that demonstrate the carbon sequestered in the soil during a crop season. With Merge Impact, EarthOptics data is securitized on the blockchain, ensuring farmers are able to increase the return on their investment to improve their soil.

"EarthOptics technology suite offers farmers more soil data insights than ever before," says Lars Dyrud, EarthOptics CEO. "Our technology quantifies the amount of carbon sequestered – not just an estimation, but total field analysis. It benefits the entire food value chain from new revenue streams for farmers to peace of mind for consumers about the sustainability of their food choices."

With 56% of consumers indicating they would be more loyal to a brand if they could see at a glance that the company was taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint**, the Merge Impact and EarthOptics partnership makes it possible for brands to reliably demonstrate to consumers their timely, meaningful progress toward their climate commitments.

"There has never been a more crucial time to make changes in how we produce our food, and the vast scale of the food system is key to making a positive change for our future livelihood and the planet," said Beth Robertson-Martin, Co-Founder and Vice President of Partnership Development at Merge Impact. "The partnership between Merge Impact and EarthOptics provides farmers a roadmap to demonstrate comprehensive and accurate soil measurements that are traceable, verifiable, and credible to brands and consumers."

For brands, Merge Impact provides a simple way to:

• MEASURE — The environmental impact of food and crop production, from water to carbon to biodiversity and more.
• VERIFY — Blockchain technology ensures the credibility of the food supply chain and brands' environmental and sustainability claims.
• CONNECT — Merge Impact connects brands and regenerative farmers, so that they can create a positive climate impact.
• CREATE — A radically transparent food economy that ensures all stakeholders — Earth, farmers, consumers, and brands — benefit from verified regenerative practices.

Go to www.mergeimpact.com to learn more about how Merge Impact's blockchain-powered measurement and data solutions combined with EarthOptics’ technology are providing a novel protocol for measuring and mapping soil health and contributing to a climate-positive food future.

About Merge Impact
Merge Impact is the first and only blockchain-powered agricultural measurement and data solution to connect brands to fully verified regenerative supply chains while providing regenerative and organic farmers with comprehensive field-level measurement and ecosystem services. The result is a radically transparent food economy that ensures all stakeholders — Earth, farmers, consumers, and brands — benefit from verified regenerative practices. With its partners, Merge Impact measures the environmental impact of crop production by monitoring almost any data point on the farm — from water to carbon to biodiversity and more. Merge Impact is an essential brand partner that connects brands with the verified data they need to reach their climate goals. Founded on the farm, Merge Impact enables and empowers farmers to measure and monetize the impacts of regenerative farming practices with the click of a button. www.mergeimpact.com

About EarthOptics
At EarthOptics, we see the soil. Differently. GroundTruth Ag, Inc., dba EarthOptics, was founded in 2018 and has offices in Raleigh, North Carolina; Arlington and Blacksburg, Virginia; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Fayetteville, Arkansas. EarthOptics is an agricultural technology company developing next-generation soil-sensing technologies that give growers revolutionary insights into the physical characteristics of their soil. EarthOptics beat out three finalists and more than 100 international ag-tech startup entries to win the AGCO Innovation Challenge Award during the 2021 World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit. We believe that below-ground precision and innovation in the soil space are long overdue. Our ultimate goal is to deliver point-of-care soil health insights – related to physical, chemical, and biological attributes of soil – in real-time. To achieve this goal, we have assembled a team with diverse backgrounds in engineering, software development, geospatial analytics, data science, machine learning, and logistics and operations.

To learn more, visit www.earthoptics.com or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/earthoptics/. 

Sources
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Contact: Molly Antos
Dadascope Communications
press@mergeimpact.com

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