Howson Carbon Projects 7 and 14 in Tarramba, QLD, have generated a combined total of 9,214 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) under the ACCU Scheme.
The projects were registered with the ERF in March of 2022 and cover 550 hectares of a larger grazing enterprise with annual average rainfall of 620mm.
AgriProve has 59 projects with validated measured increases in soil carbon across its portfolio under the 2021 methodology.
7th June 2024: The Howson Carbon Project, part of the Gunthorpe Cattle Company/Tarramba Brahmans grazing enterprise, incorporates 15 individual soil carbon projects. The first two to show validated measured increases have generated a combined total of 9,214 ACCUs under the ACCU Scheme in a partnership with AgriProve, Australia’s leading carbon soiltech developer.
Utilising AgriProve’s innovative, digitally enabled Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) model the projects benefited from the expedited soil sampling and carbon crediting process. The SOC model which combines satellite imagery with ground-truthed measurement more accurately predicts changes in SOC attributed to on-farm management practices. The result is AgriProve partnering landholders can be issued ACCUs in two years instead of five.
Landholders Adam and Tracy Gunthorpe run 3,000 head of cattle with 900 breeding cows across 20,000 acres in central Queensland. They manage 15 individual soil carbon projects as part of the wider Howson Carbon Project area at Tarramba. Adam is Vice Chair of a Brahman genetic improvement group that sell through an online platform. The group is called Frontier Genetics and they use Estimated Breeding Value (EBV) data to progress profitability through transparent, predictable and environmentally responsible beef genetics.
The Howson Carbon Project land management strategy revolves around grazing intensity. Adam and Tracy incorporate rotational grazing and are proactive in matching their stocking rate to carrying capacity. As part of their soil carbon project they improved watering systems and installed fencing to subdivide paddocks. This provides rest periods which work to enhance grazing intensity across the agribusiness. They have also invested in legume and grass improvements that have helped increase biomass across the project.
The Howson Carbon Project also serves as one of three Producer Demonstration Sites in a research project with Meat and Livestock Australia exploring the impact of soil carbon on grazing enterprises and how it can contribute to the industry’s carbon neutral by 2030 target (CN30).
AgriProve currently has 59 measured project increases in soil carbon and continues to work closely with partnering producers and the Clean Energy Regulator to streamline the project crediting process.
AgriProve is the fastest growing carbon soiltech developer in Australia, with an award-winning, data-driven approach already supporting over 700 projects totalling more than 170,000 hectares. AgriProve’s commercial model of soil carbon farming provides built-in regulatory integrity and a streamlined registration process for partnering farmers while removing carbon project risk.
Private sector operators like AgriProve are boosting investment in healthy soils and the technological innovation required for the scaling and evolution of regenerative agriculture required to achieve the Australian federal government’s emission targets for 2030 and beyond. The recently launched Tags for Tonnes initiative is one such innovation that AgriProve has pioneered. Through the programme, landholders can access satellite enabled, solar powered cattle tags and digital grazing management platform, Ready Graze, for no upfront costs. This integrated management system is tailored for herd and soil carbon management – helping to quantify environmental improvements through data that provides valuable insights to farmers on location, movement and behaviour of their herd.
Quotes attributable to AgriProve Managing Director Matthew Warnken
We have been truly impressed by Adam and Tracy Gunthorpe's long term commitment to improving the quality of their soil health and it is great to see the reward for their management effort in the issuance of ACCUs. Their long term commitment also aligns well with the long term nature of soil carbon projects under the ACCU scheme and the robustness of the soil carbon calculations which focus on long term validation of underlying changes in soil carbon stocks.
Quotes attributable to Howson Carbon Project landholder Adam Gunthorpe
“We’re part of the AgriProve Producer Demonstration Site trial with MLA to experiment on our land and test how different grazing techniques impact the grazing intensity of our business so we can discover what works best for us.”
“We liked the AgriProve model. While we paid for the upfront sampling, partnering with AgriProve was more cost effective over the lifetime of the project from a cashflow perspective for us, even though they take a relatively larger percentage of end credits.”
“These credits boost the value of our family land. We’re in this for the long haul as we have 24 years of carbon project ahead of us, but we’re impressed with the speed of turnaround.”
“Climate has varied my entire life with wet and dry periods. We’re using the carbon project to help us build resilience. If you’re passionate about your land and improving it the benefits will follow.”
Media contact: Daniel Wortmann 0448 187 650 [email protected]