+ How long does a soil carbon project last?

Soil carbon projects are registered under a 25-year ‘permanence’ period. This means the organic carbon must be maintained for a period of 25 years after the first issuance of carbon credits to the project (previously the only option was a 100-year permanence period). The main commitment over this time is maintaining the land in an agricultural system. AgriProve remains as the project participant to ensure continuity for the monitoring, reporting, and verification of the project.

+ What is involved in running a soil carbon project from start to finish?

The steps involved in carrying out a soil carbon project are as follows:

  1. Provide your consent to register a project on your land. This process is very quick to initiate and we will work hard to get your project declared by the Clean Energy Regulator as soon as possible.
  2. Baseline soil sampling to measure the levels of soil carbon currently in your soil. Sampling takes a day or two - samples are sent to the laboratory for analysis. The soil sampling results will also be provided to you.
  3. You carry out at least one new activity to increase levels of soil carbon. This activity can differ depending on your interests and land management requirements. See our resource section for different eligible land management activities.
  4. After 2-4 years we carry out more soil sampling to measure the levels of soil carbon in your soil. Again, samples are sent to the laboratory for analysis. The difference in the amount of soil carbon is then calculated.
  5. If the amount of carbon calculated in your soil has increased, we will apply to the Clean Energy Regulator for the corresponding amount of carbon credits. Once the carbon credits are issued, you get paid.

For more information on the process visit the Start Here page.

+ Can I vary the size of my soil carbon project once it has been registered?

The size of the carbon project area can be varied up until the baseline sampling round. After this all future measurements will need to be compared to the baseline sampling results and therefore the project area cannot change following this baseline sampling round. However, we can always register an additional soil carbon project if you want to stagger the implementation of building soil carbon across your farming operations.