Project Location
Project area
Permanence Period
About the Project
The Warragundi Soil Carbon Project is a 3,800-hectare project, sitting within the wider Warragundi Aggregation, sprawling across 8,547 hectares of farmland in the Central Tablelands region of NSW. The Warragundi Aggregation is owned and managed by Bettergrow, part of the Borg group of companies.
Bettergrow is an Australian leader in the recovery and remanufacturing of organic residuals, waste and by-products. By extracting maximum value from materials otherwise destined for landfill, Bettergrow transforms them into quality composts, fertilisers and bespoke soil rehabilitation products for resale.
The first stage of the project was baseline soil carbon sampling, a fundamental component of any Australian soil carbon farming project under the ACCU Scheme’s Soil Carbon 2021 Methodology.
Baseline sampling measures the soil organic carbon (SOC) levels in the given project area before you start to implement your new activities. This baseline is then used to compare and measure future carbon levels throughout a carbon soil project. It is used to award you carbon credits for additional SOC stored. Read more about the baseline carbon soil sampling process.
Aims
Andrew Cheah, Head of Group Energy, stated the main reasons for undertaking a carbon farming project was to diversify their income whilst improving their yield of current farming produce.
Lessons Learned so Far
CFF partnered with Precision Agriculture (PAPL) to collect 195 soil cores across the 3,800-hectare project area. We also undertook extensive mapping of the project area to develop a sampling plan that followed strict Clean Energy Regulator (CER) requirements. With this plan in hand, PAPL could then implement it in accordance with the ACCU Scheme’s Soil Carbon Methodology.
The CFF aims to make the baseline carbon sampling process as hassle-free as possible. We prioritise minimal impact on the farm manager’s business-as-usual operations with a straightforward, clearly outlined plan for contractors. However, no matter how much preparation you do, there are always unavoidable weather impacts!
What’s next?
Now that the project is registered with the CER and baselining has been completed, the project has begun implementing eligible activities under the ACCU Scheme’s Soil Carbon Method.
The eligible activities that Bettergrow will implement include transitioning to compost and non-synthetic fertilisers to address nutrient deficiencies, alongside a focus on improving perennial pastures for their livestock operation and moving to a rotational grazing system to increase the carrying capacity of the pastures.
Learn more about the ongoing management of a soil carbon project in our Soil Carbon Guide.
Project details
Number of properties
1
Baseline samples collected
195
How we helped
Feasibility, project mapping, project registration and variations, baseline sampling coordination, and compliance advice.
The Carbon Farming Foundation is no longer offering carbon project support services.
To read the full announcement, please click here: https://carbonfarming.org.au/cff-announces-services-closure/
If you need to reach the CFF team, please email admin@carbonfarming.org.au
