What is EOV?
Ecological Outcomes Verification
Mt. Folly backs up its Regenerative claims using the Ecological Outcomes Verification methodology designed and operated by the Savory Institute.
The Savory Institute is a nonprofit organization, whose mission is to facilitate the large-scale regeneration of the world’s grasslands and the livelihoods of their inhabitants, through Holistic Management. EOV (Ecological Outcome Verification) is an empirically-based data collection protocol that serves as the cornerstone for market claims in Savory programs.
The EOV protocol was developed in collaboration with leading soil scientists, ecologists, agronomists, and an extensive network of regenerative land managers around the world.
EOV is a practical and scalable soil and landscape assessment methodology that tracks outcomes in biodiversity, water, soil health, and ecosystem function (i.e. water cycle, mineral cycle, energy flow, and community dynamics).
EOV applies to grassland environments as well as grazed orchards, silvopasture systems, mixed livestock-cropping systems, and mixed livestock-forest areas. Pure cropping systems are currently not considered.
EOV is designed to reflect the Savory Institute’s enduring commitment to farmer education and support. We strive for continuous improvement in our community of practitioners and respect for unique contexts around the world.
Our guiding pillars include:
The Savory Institute is a nonprofit organization, whose mission is to facilitate the large-scale regeneration of the world’s grasslands and the livelihoods of their inhabitants, through Holistic Management. EOV (Ecological Outcome Verification) is an empirically-based data collection protocol that serves as the cornerstone for market claims in Savory programs.
The EOV protocol was developed in collaboration with leading soil scientists, ecologists, agronomists, and an extensive network of regenerative land managers around the world.
EOV is a practical and scalable soil and landscape assessment methodology that tracks outcomes in biodiversity, water, soil health, and ecosystem function (i.e. water cycle, mineral cycle, energy flow, and community dynamics).
EOV applies to grassland environments as well as grazed orchards, silvopasture systems, mixed livestock-cropping systems, and mixed livestock-forest areas. Pure cropping systems are currently not considered.
EOV is designed to reflect the Savory Institute’s enduring commitment to farmer education and support. We strive for continuous improvement in our community of practitioners and respect for unique contexts around the world.
Our guiding pillars include:
Outcomes-Based
Many certifications are process/practice-based (i.e. they inventory practices), yet the use of specific practices or tools does not guarantee land regeneration. Outcomes depend on brittleness of the landscape as well as management decisions and timing. Management depends on contextual variances in cultural, environmental, and economic conditions. EOV measures tangible outcomes and trends key indicators of ecosystem function, which in the aggregate indicate positive or negative trends in the overall health of a landscape. This in turn informs the farmer, rancher, or pastoralist with ongoing feedback and data from which to make better management decisions.
Contextually Relevant
EOV is contextualized within its given ecoregion. Each ecoregion contains its own biodiversity of flora and fauna and has unique characteristics such as climate, geology, and soil types. Using well-recognized ecoregion maps, calibration to the area occurs by first defining alternate states of soil and vegetation within each ecoregion, called a State and Transition catalog. Within an ecoregion reference areas are then identified based on a desirable state demonstrating higher biodiversity, resilience, and ecosystem function. These reference areas in conjunction with a State and Transitions catalog are used to develop an evaluation matrix of ecological indicators that assess the ecological health of a farm or ranch.
Farmer First
EOV is designed to be a learning mechanism and assessment tool for ongoing land improvement as well as assisting in market differentiation if an operation uses EOV and fulfills the requirements of the Land to Market program. EOV is implemented by Savory’s global network of regional Hubs, which are well acquainted with local environments, management styles, and operating conditions. These Hubs have personnel that work closely with land managers in their geographical areas and can assist managers seeking training or implementation support for improving land health.
The main steps in EOV include regional calibration, creating a monitoring plan, conducting short-term and long-term monitoring, quality assurance review of the data, and reporting data to land managers.
The key monitoring data associated with each participating farm generate an Ecological Health Index. The Evaluation Matrix is a scorecard made up of a set of contextually relevant leading ecological indicators. The EHI score serves as an aggregated measure of ecosystem health. It is based on ecological indicators associated with the four ecosystem processes – water cycle, mineral cycle, energy flow, and community dynamics.
The Ecological Health Index (EHI score) is the sum of the scores for each indicator. The final score is dependent on the Evaluation Matrix for a given ecoregion. For example in an ecoregion leaning toward the non-brittle end of the brittleness scale it can range between -140 and +120 points.
The EHI includes:
1. Live canopy abundance
2. Microfauna
3. Warm season grasses (Vigor and reproduction of a functional group)
4. Cool season grasses (Vigor and reproduction of a functional group)
5. Forbs and legumes (Vigor and reproduction of a functional group)
6. Trees and shrubs (Vigor and reproduction of a functional group)
7. Contextually desirable species
8. Contextually undesirable species
9. Litter abundance
10. Litter decomposition
11. Dung decomposition
12. Bare soil
13. Soil capping
14. Wind erosion
15. Water erosion
The key monitoring data associated with each participating farm generate an Ecological Health Index. The Evaluation Matrix is a scorecard made up of a set of contextually relevant leading ecological indicators. The EHI score serves as an aggregated measure of ecosystem health. It is based on ecological indicators associated with the four ecosystem processes – water cycle, mineral cycle, energy flow, and community dynamics.
The Ecological Health Index (EHI score) is the sum of the scores for each indicator. The final score is dependent on the Evaluation Matrix for a given ecoregion. For example in an ecoregion leaning toward the non-brittle end of the brittleness scale it can range between -140 and +120 points.
The EHI includes:
1. Live canopy abundance
2. Microfauna
3. Warm season grasses (Vigor and reproduction of a functional group)
4. Cool season grasses (Vigor and reproduction of a functional group)
5. Forbs and legumes (Vigor and reproduction of a functional group)
6. Trees and shrubs (Vigor and reproduction of a functional group)
7. Contextually desirable species
8. Contextually undesirable species
9. Litter abundance
10. Litter decomposition
11. Dung decomposition
12. Bare soil
13. Soil capping
14. Wind erosion
15. Water erosion
An overview of Savory Institute's land monitoring protocol
Download Savory's EOV Overview PDF Download Mt. Folly Farm's EOV Report 2025
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