Conducting FARM ES evaluations on all of a Participant’s farms may be impractical or cost prohibitive. Random sampling is a recognized approach by the GHG Protocol for addressing the challenges of Scope 3 data gathering (See the GHG Protocol: Technical Guidance for Scope 3 Reporting for more information: (https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/standards/Scope3_Calculation_Guidance_0.pdf). The GHG Protocol maintains frameworks for measuring and managing GHG emissions. It is widely used for reporting to CDP.
FARM recommends using stratified random sampling to overcome that barrier while still getting an accurate estimate of Participant-wide GHG emissions intensity. The FARM ES Sampling Protocol stratifies farms based on milk volume and geography.