Yaloak Estate Soil Carbon Project (Revoked)

Yaloak Estate Soil Carbon Project (Revoked) is a soil carbon sequestration project located at Yaloak Estate near Ballan, approximately 70km west of Melbourne, Victoria. Registered in April 2015, the project covered a substantial area of 5,741 hectares. The region is situated in Victoria's Central Highlands and is traditionally utilised for mixed farming operations, including broad-acre cropping and livestock grazing.

The project operated under the Sequestering Carbon in Soils in Grazing Systems methodology. This method requires proponents to alter land management practices to increase soil organic carbon stocks, typically by increasing biomass production or retaining stubble. In this specific instance, the project activity involved converting land from continuous cropping to permanent pasture. A key component of this transition was the application of deep subsoil manuring, an innovative technique designed to ameliorate sodic subsoils by injecting organic matter deep into the soil profile to improve root penetration and water retention.

Environmentally, the Ballan region is characterised by a High Rainfall Zone classification (approximately 570mm annually) and complex soil structures. The soils at Yaloak Estate are predominantly Sodosols, consisting of a fertile basalt clay-loam topsoil overlying a heavy, dispersive sodic clay subsoil. This "hostile" subsoil layer was the primary target of the project's manuring activities, which were pioneered on the estate in collaboration with agricultural researchers.

The project was voluntarily revoked on November 3, 2022, under Section 30 of the CFI Rule, meaning it is no longer active in the carbon market. Yaloak Estate itself is a well-known property in the district, hosting not only agricultural operations but also the Yaloak South Wind Farm and polo facilities. The estate served as a significant research site for subsoil amelioration trials, providing data that informed broader agricultural practices in southern Australia.