AgriProve celebrates 12 months of soil success
From breaking new ground and breaking new records, AgriProve and our landholders have led the charge in improving soil health and unlocking the necessary, evidence-based innovations to accelerate and scale carbon sequestration through soil.
As we reflect on 2023 it’s both encouraging to see what we have achieved together with our partner landholders, and clear that continued focus, innovation and grit is needed.
Together we can ensure a future-safe climate while increasing land productivity, providing additional revenue streams for landholders, and building our climate resilience.
The seeds we have planted in 2023 will continue to bear fruit and accelerate growth into 2024 and beyond.
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February
Launch of Scorpion at evokeAG
The launch of our Next Generation Soil Measurement Platform at evokeAG showcased our new soil sampling platform, Scorpion.
Scorpion takes physical sampling to the next level with a broader range of soil variables being captured with onsite analysis using Near Infrared Spectroscopy for elevated accuracy. The platform will develop over time to include drones and autonomous vehicles equipped with data collection technology.
Scorpion provides a robust ground-truthing approach to validate data, offering precision insights.
You can watch the launch below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNHF83Bo9U8
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April
RMIT and Grantham Foundation partnership accelerating evidence base for SOC
Our partnership with RMIT and the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment on a three-year Soil Carbon Research Program is boosting the evidence base of Australia’s world-leading approach to soil carbon project development.
The research program is refining the accuracy of how and where samples are taken, so that confidence in the critically important method can continue to grow and the benefits of soil carbon projects optimised.
The project is another important demonstration of our ongoing investment in innovation and technology to benefit partnering producers.
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May
AgriProve celebrates 300 soil carbon projects baselined for partnering farmers
The Baldwin Carbon Project in Central Victoria was our number 300!
We’re incredibly proud that our baseline soil sampling is the first step in transforming detailed soil condition data into actionable operational outcomes for over 300 landholders to drive informed decision making that maximises yields and productivity.
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The Tarramba – QLD demonstration site (both pics)
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June
MLA partners with AgriProve in research project on CN30
AgriProve’s evidence-based approach to soil carbon was recognised by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) with a six-year research Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) grant to explore how sequestering carbon in soils can impact the carbon intensity of a livestock enterprise.
The $150,000 grant is supporting the Australian red meat industry in transitioning to carbon neutral by 2030 through growing understanding of how soil carbon impacts carbon intensity and farmgate revenue for landholders.
Three AgriProve partnering producers at Tarramba – Queensland, Dungog – NSW, and Carrick – Tasmania will host demonstration sites to trial management practices that sequester carbon in soils.
The MLA project will include whole farm carbon accounting to determine the cost-benefit of soil carbon projects and highlight how soil carbon sequestration can support livestock enterprises in reaching and moving beyond carbon neutral.
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July
Stuart Upton’s milestone appointment as GM Australia
The appointment of Stuart Upton as our first General Manager Australia bolstered our ability to accelerate progress in building soil carbon in Australia. His expertise and experience are reinforcing our growth and focus on providing market-leading support to our partnering producers.
Stuart is providing the national leadership and drive necessary for AgriProve to keep hitting our goals into 2024, and, in doing so, make a material difference to Australia’s Paris climate targets.
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Karen Scanlan (Landholder) and Andrew Bremner (AgriProve) on farm at FYSH Carbon Project
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July
Fysh Carbon Project at Mount Tom near Gladstone generates 3,559 ACCUs in 2 years
AgriProve’s innovative soil sampling analysis and collection within a digitally enabled Soil Organic Carbon model supported the generation of ACCUs within just 2 years of project commencement.
The project was sown with multi-species pasture using a zero-tillage disc. Grazing was withheld for 9 months to allow for maturation and seed set to build up the seed bank for the following season.
AgriProve’s Carbon Intensity Assessment revealed landholders Karen and Robert Scanlan successfully sequestered more carbon than they emitted for each year of their cattle farming project.
“My husband and I bought this land six years ago, and it’s always been important to balance environmental interests with the profitability of our cattle farming operations. We’re now building a separate arm of our business through this soil carbon project that’s so valuable to us,” said Karen Scanlan.
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September
McLachlan Carbon Project at Dungog, NSW, generates 2,110 ACCUs in 2 years
The McLachlan Carbon Project at Rocking Chair Farm at Marshdale near Dungog, NSW, generated 2,110 ACCUs in two years on 73.6 hectares with 1114mm rainfall.
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The Rocking Chair Farm operation includes 90 breeding Angus cows and calves, 30 Australian White ewes and lambs and a growing pastured egg enterprise incorporating 120 birds in a mobile coop.
The original seven paddocks were subdivided into 25 paddocks to support rotational grazing. Since the project commenced, the property installed watering systems including watering troughs to enable paddock subdivision and to build water resilience across the farm, a key concern for the landholder who entered into the partnership with AgriProve after emerging from drought.
“For many farmers the argument is that unless you have millions in the bank you can’t make an impact at scale – we’ve now proven a regenerative agriculture business can be profitable and scalable,” said landholder John Monaghan.
“Soil driven decision making has been the key for us – that’s the change producers need to make. Make decisions from the soil up, not the animal down.”
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September
Reef Credit Method for Grazing Land Management open for consultation
A pioneering partnership between GreenCollar, Verterra Ecological Engineering and AgriProve brought together innovation, knowledge, and science, with experience in grazing land management, soil health, water quality and environmental markets to develop the GLM Method.
The new GLM Reef Credit Method was developed to complement and work side by side with soil carbon crediting by improving soil carbon stores, as well as boosting grazing productivity from whole of property management planning.
By bringing together the complementary goals of improved pasture and soil health for graziers, and improved water quality for the Reef, the GLM Method will incentivise and help graziers achieve a high level of ground cover before high intensity rainfall periods to reduce sediment run-off onto the Reef.
EcoMarkets Australia, the independent administrator of the Reef Credit scheme, is working with the Method authors to address feedback before the Method is formally approved and adopted under the Reef Credit Standard.
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September
AgriProve launches $30M+ Series B investment to unlock scalability in soil carbon
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The one thing all scientists agree on, is that bad management practices strip carbon out of soil.
We launched our A$30 million Series B investment round to give strategically aligned investors the opportunity to drive Agriprove’s organisational capacity, digitise farm management and scale verified soil carbon profiling and spearhead its delivery and global expansion.
We were incredibly proud to take this next step on our mission to de-risk soil as a viable asset class and accelerate the commercial deployment of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) – tipped to reach a trillion dollars globally by 2050.
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October
Smith Carbon Project in the Darling Downs generates 1,363 ACCUs in 3 years
The Smith Carbon Project in Glenarbon QLD successfully generated 1,363 Australian carbon credit units only three years since registering the soil carbon project on 500 hectares with 630mm annual average rainfall.
Bellhaven Brook Farm includes 800 Australian White ewes, whose progeny go into direct-to-consumer lamb boxes distributed primarily throughout the Sunshine Coast through the Macintyre Brook Lamb business.
Having purchased the land in mid 2019 during drought conditions, building climate resilience into their land was a key factor in Sophie and Adrian McInnerney’s decision to initiate a soil carbon farming project.
“We’re incredibly excited by this result – having sequestered this amount of carbon in such a short amount of time by tweaking our land management strategies,” said Sophie McInnerney.
You can shop Macintyre Brook Lamb’s ethically produced lamb boxes on their website: https://macintyrebrooklamb.com.au/
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October
AgriProve brings focus on Soil Carbon to Canberra with SCIG
AgriProve continued leading the development of Soil Carbon as a climate solution by coming together for the Annual General Meeting of the Soil Carbon Industry Group in Canberra.
SCIG Members joined a meeting of the Parliamentary Friends for Climate Action in Parliament House. Meetings with The Clean Energy Regulator and Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water also focused on accelerating participation in soil carbon projects.
Effective Policy development requires the skills and expertise of SCIG and members like AgriProve to get the settings right to accelerate action. We recognise that only through collaborating with our fellow soil stakeholders can we continue making progress in highlighting soil as a scalable carbon removal technology.
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November
AgriProve and Ceres Tag collaboration to transform grazing management
We announced a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to combine Ceres Tag’s proprietary smart ear tag technology, which provides unparalleled animal-specific geospatial and intake data, with our expertise in soil carbon and carbon credit generation.
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Ceres Tag offers a world class platform for livestock monitoring, delivering critical feed efficiency and methane emissions data, on animal movement and health, enabling producers to make informed decisions for enhanced productivity.
AgriProve and Ceres Tag are both committed to unlocking multiple benefits of digitising farming systems for landowners in order to enhance insights and predictive capacity.
Digital soil carbon stocks and digital grazing management are central to this transformation, positioning soil as a global solution to climate change with Agriculture continuing to embrace innovation as a key part of the solution to addressing climate change and aiming beyond net zero.
Pictured: Ceres Tag CEO David Smith
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November
MLA project launch
A field day was held at partnering producers Marcus and Eleanor James’ property ‘Junction Farm’ at Carrick, Tasmania, to kick off the new MLA Australia project, ‘Soil Carbon to Reach Carbon Neutral’.
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The other AgriProve partnering producer sites are hosted by John Monaghan and Alan Smith of McLachlan Carbon Project at Dungog NSW, and the Gunthorpes of Howson Carbon Project, Tarramba QLD.
Marcus explained how the project will support him to conduct whole farm carbon accounting to better understand how his soil carbon project and large scale environmental plantings project will affect his carbon and natural capital account.
Sophie Folder from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture Drought Hub discussed state level approaches and priorities with Natural Capital Accounting, and current approaches taken by key supply chain players.
Maximising soil carbon and natural capital remains our key focus for this research project.
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December
AgriProve Celebrates Founding Role in Launch of the International Soil Carbon Industry Alliance at COP28
AgriProve was immensely proud to be a foundational signatory member of the International Soil Carbon Industry Alliance (ISCIA) launched at COP28, coinciding with UN World Soil Day.
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This monumental event signified a collective commitment to advancing agricultural decarbonisation and enhancing global soil organic carbon.
All pathways to avoid catastrophic warming rely on carbon dioxide removal, in addition to drastically reducing emissions.
ISCIA’s launch includes representation from 28 organisations initially forming two chapters in Eurasia and Pacific-Americas to capture the global time zones. The cross-industry collaborative group aims to identify and overcome barriers that hinder the success of soil carbon projects, share best practices and provide recommendations for policy development that support soil carbon sequestration.
ISCIA is committed to enhancing the soil carbon market through advancements in accounting methods, carbon credit integrity, measurement technologies, and exploring co-benefits like biodiversity, water quality, and improved food security.
The launch of ISCIA marks a transformative step in our collective journey towards sustainable agriculture and impactful climate action. AgriProve’s involvement as a founding partner reflects our unwavering commitment to fostering innovative approaches in soil carbon sequestration.
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Message from Matthew Warnken
AgriProve has led the way in working with landholders to enhance the sustainability and productivity outcomes of their land through improving soil health at scale. We appreciate the importance of evidence-based decision making in agriculture and continue investing in the scientific innovations necessary to meet the measurement challenge and evolve our understanding of soil.
On behalf of the AgriProve team, I thank our network of collaborators and researchers who have contributed to our current success in reaching this milestone and are already moving the needle on our innovative approach to soil measurement.
Thanks also to the hundreds of partnering producers across Australia who share our sense of urgency in collaborating to secure the future for their families, their landholdings and our planet.
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