Terrapass Webinar: Meet LandYield — Bringing Carbon Revenue to America’s Family Forests

Learn how LandYield is helping private forest owners across the Eastern and Central United States earn carbon revenue through improved forest management while keeping forests healthy, productive, and in family ownership for future generations.

About the Project

LandYield develops Improved Forest Management (IFM) carbon projects for small and medium-sized private forest landowners across the eastern United States. The program enables family forest owners to generate recurring revenue by deferring commercial timber harvests and allowing their forests to continue growing and storing additional carbon.

Historically, participation in forest carbon markets was limited to large industrial timber companies and institutional landowners due to the complexity and cost of project development. LandYield was created to make carbon markets accessible to roughly 40% of US forestland owned by small private landowners, that have historically been left out of the carbon market. By combining remote sensing technology, streamlined enrollment, and aggregation of thousands of privately owned forest acres into larger carbon projects, LandYield has dramatically expanded access to the carbon market for family forest owners, all while allowing them to maintain ownership, recreational use, and active stewardship of their property.

Locations

LandYield currently works with forest landowners across the United States, with active projects and enrollment across 32 states in the Southeast, Northeast and Midwest.

Climate Impact

By incentivizing harvest deferral and long-term forest stewardship, LandYield projects increase carbon storage in privately owned forests while helping prevent fragmentation and conversion of working forestland.

The program supports long-term carbon sequestration through improved forest management practices and creates economic incentives for landowners to maintain healthy forests.

Methodology & Standards

Projects are developed under the American Carbon Registry (ACR) Improved Forest Management on Small Non-Industrial Private Forestlands (SNIPFL) methodology.

Projects are independently verified through accredited third-party verification bodies and registered through the American Carbon Registry.

Why This Project Is Unique

LandYield is helping solve one of the biggest challenges in voluntary carbon markets: bringing small family forest owners into a market that has historically excluded them.

Rather than focusing on large industrial ownerships, LandYield's model is designed specifically for private landowners, allowing participation beginning at 40 acres while providing flexible enrollment options and recurring revenue opportunities.

The project demonstrates how carbon finance can support conservation, forest stewardship, and family land retention at scale across the United States.

What We've Covered:

• Challenges and opportunities for family forests
• The LandYield platform and remote sensing based MRV
• ACR SNIPFL methodology
• Market leading permanence through timber deeds
• Offtake supply outlook and buyer partnership opportunities

Managing Director

Topics covered: LandYield intro, carbon purchase opportunities

Jon leads finance, business development, and legal at LandYield. He is a forester with 20 years of experience in forest management, timberland acquisition, carbon development, and forest policy. He was previously COO of Carbon Lockdown, VP of Carbon at Mast Reforestation, Director of US investments at New Forests, and served in various roles at the Weyerhaeuser Company. He holds an MBA and Master of Forestry from Yale, where he was a Wyss Conservation Scholar, and a BA in History from Carleton College.

Director

Topics Covered: Overview of LandYield program, technology, and carbon methodology

Josh Fain is a Director at LandYield, specializing in forest conservation and carbon project development. With 20 years of professional forest management and research experience, Josh manages landowner recruitment, project vetting, and technical development to help family forests access carbon markets. Prior to LandYield, he developed carbon projects with The Climate Trust. Josh earned a Master of Environmental Management from the Yale School of the Environment and a Bachelor of Science in Forest Management from the University of Georgia. His background in applied forestry grounds LandYield projects in sound silvicultural practices.

Operations Manager

Topics Covered: Challenges facing family forest owners

Grace Buie is the Operations Manager at LandYield. Grace holds a Master of Environmental Management from the Yale School of the Environment and an MBA from the Yale School of Management, as well as an undergraduate degree from UNC Chapel Hill. She worked as an energy procurement consultant prior to moving into carbon, where she has worked in carbon financing and project development. Her expertise in environmental science, finance, and operational management supports the execution and oversight of LandYield project portfolio.