EarthOptics and Cquester partner to verify soil carbon at scale

EarthOptics, a U.S. soil intelligence company, and Cquester Analytics, a soil-science laboratory based in Fort Collins, Colorado, announced a strategic partnership on August 5, 2026 to combine field-scale soil carbon measurement with lab-grade carbon fractionation. The deal is meant to give farmers, carbon-program developers, and corporate buyers a single path from in-field sampling to laboratory verification for soil carbon claims.

What each company adds to soil carbon measurement

EarthOptics already operates one of the more extensive soil data and analytics networks in the United States and South America, measuring carbon, biology, nutrients, and compaction across client farmland. Cquester Analytics, founded by soil scientists including chief scientific officer Francesca Cotrufo, specializes in particulate organic matter (POM) and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) fractionation, a laboratory method that separates soil carbon by how it accumulates, stabilizes, and resists loss over time. The partnership folds Cquester’s fractionation into EarthOptics’ existing field-to-lab pipeline.

Why fractionation matters for carbon credit buyers

POM/MAOM fractionation distinguishes soil carbon by how likely it is to remain stored over time, rather than reporting a single aggregate carbon number. EarthOptics chief executive Lars Dyrud said the company is “going deeper on carbon, adding [Cquester’s] pioneering fractionation to give developers and investors the defensible permanence evidence the market is asking for.” Corporate buyers face tightening disclosure requirements, including California’s AB 1305, the Science Based Targets initiative, and CDP reporting, which the companies say is pushing demand for more rigorous, lab-verified soil carbon data rather than modeled estimates alone. The approach complements broader regenerative agriculture practices that farmers use to rebuild soil organic matter over time.

The companies said they also intend to pursue joint research toward shared measurement standards for soil biology and carbon, including in grassland soil health, an area where they say no broadly accepted measurement standard currently exists.

Background

EarthOptics operates soil sampling and lab infrastructure across the U.S. and South America, including a 14,500-square-foot laboratory facility it opened in the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina area in May 2026, and offers services covering carbon, DNA-based soil biology, nutrients, and compaction. Cquester Analytics was founded by women scientists with backgrounds in soil organic matter research and has focused on commercializing POM/MAOM fractionation for regenerative agriculture, environmental markets, and sustainability programs. The August 5 partnership extends both companies’ work into a combined offering aimed at sustainable, profitable farming practices that also hold up under third-party carbon verification.

Sources: GlobeNewswire (EarthOptics); Carbon Herald

Featured image: photo by Elvis KAMBIRE on Pexels (free Pexels license).

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Figen Sekin

I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.