Key Takeaways
- Grassroots Carbon has launched GroundOwl, a new soil carbon measurement technology developed in partnership with EarthOptics, exclusively for U.S. grasslands and grazing lands.
- GroundOwl uses electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensing to scan soils up to one meter deep without disturbing the land, generating high-resolution maps of soil properties across entire ranches.
- The technology complements Grassroots Carbon’s existing physical soil sampling program, which already samples to 1-meter depth — more than three times the industry standard of 30 cm.
- GroundOwl is planned to integrate with Grassroots Carbon’s PastureMap platform, giving ranchers field-level visibility into soil carbon distribution across their land.
- Additional science-driven tools are planned for 2026 as part of a broader innovation roadmap covering soil health, carbon durability, and ecological outcomes.
Grassroots Carbon Introduces GroundOwl for Soil Carbon Monitoring
Grassroots Carbon has announced the launch of GroundOwl, a soil carbon measurement technology developed in partnership with EarthOptics. The tool will be exclusively deployed by Grassroots Carbon across U.S. grasslands and grazing lands.
How GroundOwl Works
GroundOwl uses advanced electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensors to scan soils up to one meter deep without disturbing the land. The technology produces high-resolution maps of soil properties, including soil organic carbon, across entire ranches and rangelands.
The system is designed to complement, not replace, physical soil sampling. Grassroots Carbon already conducts soil core sampling to 1-meter depth — more than three times deeper than the industry standard of 30 centimeters. GroundOwl adds a continuous, landscape-scale layer of data that fills spatial and temporal gaps between sampling cycles.
Integration with PastureMap
Grassroots Carbon plans to integrate GroundOwl directly with its PastureMap platform. This would give ranchers field-level visibility into soil carbon patterns, supporting grazing decisions, forage productivity, and long-term land management.
Leadership Quotes
“GroundOwl helps us see what’s happening not just at a precise point, but across whole landscapes,” said Lars Dyrud, CEO of EarthOptics. “This is critical for understanding change at the scale this work demands and the scale climate solutions require.”
“We believe you cannot manage what you cannot measure,” said Brad Tipper, CEO of Grassroots Carbon. “Through this partnership, GroundOwl turns complex soil data into something practical and usable, helping connect what’s happening below ground to decisions made in the field.”
Regenerative grazing pioneer Dr. Allen Williams added: “When you can visualize how soil properties and ecosystem biodiversity vary across a ranch, it changes the way grazing management plans are built and applied.”
Grassroots Carbon’s Scale of Operations
Grassroots Carbon currently partners with ranchers across more than 2 million acres in 22 states, operating what it describes as the largest grassland soil carbon program in the United States. The company reported it was the first in the U.S. to issue regenerative grazing soil carbon credits and has delivered 1.9 million tons of carbon removals, with more than 1.5 million tons already retired by corporate partners. Since 2022, the company has made more than $40 million in direct payments to ranchers for sequestered carbon.
GroundOwl marks the first phase of a broader innovation roadmap, with additional tools planned for 2026 focused on soil health, carbon durability, and ecological outcomes.
