23 September 2024: AgriProve, Australia’s leading carbon soiltech developer, and the University of New England, Australia (UNE), one of the nation’s leading applied agricultural research institutions, today announced a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) forging a partnership to create a digital research program utilising Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to quantify best practice in livestock management and carbon sequestration.
This collaboration will combine UNE’s expertise in livestock production systems and farm management technologies, with AgriProve's extensive soil database, expertise in soil carbon and carbon credit generation. Together, they are set to transform the agricultural landscape, offering farmers region specific solutions to best practice grazing management for soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration and production. This collaboration will investigate the causal connections between grazing management and soil carbon sequestration.
AgriProve is the fastest growing carbon soiltech developer in Australia, with an award-winning, data-driven approach already supporting over 750 projects, representing more than 70% of all soil carbon projects successfully registered in the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme. AgriProve’s success and level of farmer engagement can be attributed to their unique commercial model and financing mechanisms, coupled with world-leading technology that provides built-in regulatory integrity, a streamlined registration, measurement and crediting processes that remove project risk and deliver real, tangible benefits to Australian farmers.. This scale means that AgriProve holds one of the largest soil databases of over 22,000 physical samples collected to date. This nationally spread data set will be harnessed in combination with Machine Learning and IoT monitoring of management levers facilitated through AgriProve’s proprietary software platform, to provide quantitative links between management techniques, production outputs, and carbon sequestration.
UNE (Australia) has a world class reputation in agricultural science. A collaboration between UNE’s rural science and computer science experts has already successfully delivered Ag360.com.au, a world-first digital support tool for grazing systems that combines bio-physical models with a localised climate forecast to predict pasture production, animal intake and growth on a daily time step for the next 6 months. The UNE team will be led by Professor Lewis Kahn, who has 30 years’ experience developing innovative pasture and livestock management systems through research and collaborating directly with farmers. Soil carbon dynamics measurement will be facilitated by a team overseen by Professor Brian Wilson, a UNE soil scientist/ecologist, internationally recognised in the fields of soil carbon dynamics, the estimation and prediction of soil and biomass carbon through remote imagery and modelling, and the carbon storage potential of native vegetation systems.
Quotes attributable to AgriProve Managing Director Matthew Warnken
“We are excited to collaborate with the University of New England, Australia on this ground-breaking initiative that brings together cutting-edge technology and agricultural research to reshape the future of grazing management. By merging UNE’s world-class expertise in livestock and pasture systems with AgriProve’s extensive soil carbon database and innovative carbon farming solutions, we aim to unlock new opportunities for farmers. This partnership will provide region-specific insights and practical tools that help farmers optimise both productivity and soil carbon sequestration. It’s about empowering farmers to enhance their operations, improve soil health, and tap into the growing carbon economy. This research will not only advance our understanding of the critical connections between grazing management and carbon sequestration but also deliver actionable outcomes for producers that can accelerate Australia’s transition to a low-carbon agricultural future.”
Quotes attributable to University of New England (Australia) Professor Lewis Kahn
The University of New England (Australia) aims to deliver benefits and outcomes to rural and regional communities, and this opportunity to work with AgriProve on developing new tools and metrics is exciting for us all. UNE welcomes this collaboration with AgriProve, to provide greater insights for livestock producers seeking to optimise their businesses, and to contribute to the nation’s efforts to sequester carbon in our soils. This is a subject of great interest to livestock producers across the country, and combining the expertise of UNE and AgriProve has the potential to provide a solid scientific foundation. This MOU has the potential to lead to a greater on-the-ground understanding of how livestock grazing management can positively impact carbon sequestration levels in our soils nationally.
Media contact (Both Matthew Warnken and Professor Lewis Kahn are available for interview):
Daniel Wortmann | [email protected] | 0448 187 650