Introducing The Grazing Lands Carbon Data Initiative
At OFN, we believe that sustainable food systems and strong data ecosystems go hand in hand. That’s why we’re excited to contribute to a new initiative designed to strengthen the data foundations of regenerative ranching.
The Grazing Lands Carbon Data Initiative (GLCDI) is building a multistakeholder trust alliance and shared data space* to federate soil and grazing management data across U.S. grazing lands. Focusing on soil organic carbon (SOC) as a primary indicator of soil health, GLCDI aims to generate the insights needed to inform and accelerate the transition to regenerative grazing.
Launching in January 2026, the project will kick off with a prototype phase focused on designing and testing a shared data space for grazing lands. This digital environment will be used to integrate soil carbon and management data, to feed predictive models and scientific analysis, and to develop producer-facing decision-support tools.
*What Is a Data Space?
A data space is a secure, federated digital environment that enables permissioned sharing, analysis, and reuse of data among trusted participants—while preserving ownership and control for data contributors. For GLCDI, this digital environment will be used to integrate soil carbon and management data, to feed predictive models and scientific analysis, and to develop producer-facing decision-support tools.
In the long-term, GLCDI envisions a future where ranchers, researchers, and technology providers share trusted, interoperable data systems that strengthen regenerative and adaptive grazing. By linking management practices with measurable soil response, the initiative lays the foundation for a continuously improving system of practice, science, and soil stewardship.
Why Grazing Lands Data Matters
Grazing lands are living ecosystems that, when well managed, can regenerate soil health, improve water retention, and sustain biodiversity. While many research and producer networks collect soil health data, these measurements are inconsistently connected to detailed grazing management records that capture grazing timing, intensity, and frequency, and herd characteristics. As interest grows in regenerative grazing strategies, including higher-frequency rotations, ranchers are increasingly seeking clear, data-driven insight into the potential benefits of these more labor-intensive, adaptive approaches.
Without these linkages, it remains difficult to evaluate the relationship between grazing management and soil outcomes, compare results across regions, or calibrate ecosystem models that can predict future impacts and guide practice and policy. And despite this growing interest, the data systems required to understand how management decisions shape soil outcomes remain fragmented, inconsistent, and incomplete.
Prototype Phase: January – September 2026
Funded by the Walmart Foundation, the prototype phase will be co-led by OpenTEAM and Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment, with Point Blue Conservation Science providing scientific leadership in soil ecology and modeling, and Caney Fork Farms and White Buffalo Land Trust anchoring producer-led piloting and validation. Startin’Blox and Open Food Network will serve as the technical partners for data interoperability, governance, and infrastructure design.
Together, these partners will convene a multi-stakeholder collaboration (including producers, researchers, ag-tech providers, and data-stewarding organizations) to design and test a shared data space for grazing lands.
Working with producers, researchers, ag-tech providers, and data-stewarding organizations, the GLCDI team will design and test a shared data space for grazing lands.
Key Activities
As part of the prototype, OFN and partners will contribute to:
- Data integration: Harmonizing existing SOC and grazing management datasets into a common format and permissioned data space for scientific analysis and modeling.
- Standardization: Developing shared vocabularies to describe grazing events, soil indicators, and regional context.
- Model training: Feeding integrated datasets into predictive models that estimate soil responses to regenerative management.
- Decision support: Prototyping digital interfaces that translate analytical insights into actionable guidance for producers.
- Governance and incentives: Establishing transparent agreements, roles, and incentive structures to support trusted, ongoing data collaboration.
Expected Outcomes
By the end of the prototype phase, GLCDI expects to deliver:
- A functional prototype data space linking SOC and grazing management data
- A prototype data pipeline for training predictive models with diverse regional datasets
- A prototype producer dashboard offering on-ranch insights and recommendations
- A governance and data stewardship framework to enable secure and trusted collaboration
- A scaling roadmap for expanding the data space and enhancing ecosystem model calibration and predictive capability
Building the Future of Ag Tech
For years, Open Food Network has been working with partners worldwide to shape a future for agricultural technology that protects data sovereignty, fosters collaboration, and strengthens food systems. GLDCI is a continuation of that work.
Although the heart of our organization will always be local food and farming, we see an urgent need for larger scale projects that promote the transition to regenerative agriculture. Much like Discover Regenerative, the groundbreaking project led by OFN Australia, GLDCI aims to build visibility and integrity in regenerative agriculture by linking data and practice. Our role as a technical and governance partner will focus on implementing best practices in values-based technology, ensuring farmers’ needs and rights are at the center of the regenerative movement. We are excited to be joined in this effort by our long-term collaborators OpenTEAM and Startin’Blox.
To learn more about GLCDI or our other ag tech projects, reach out by email to .
