Advance Carbon Project

Advance Carbon Project is a soil carbon project located approximately 20km from the town of Dunedoo in the Central West region of New South Wales. Registered in December 2017, the project covers an area of 419.01 hectares and is managed by Corporate Carbon Solutions Pty Ltd alongside agent Deane Belfield.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Sequestering Carbon in Soils in Grazing Systems) Methodology Determination 2014. This methodology involves storing carbon in agricultural soils by adopting new, eligible land management practices that increase soil organic carbon. Standard requirements mandate that proponents introduce at least one new management activity, such as altering stocking densities or introducing new pasture species, while strictly measuring carbon baseline stocks through rigorous, independent soil sampling frameworks. Specific to this project, carbon is sequestered through rejuvenating pastures, changing grazing patterns, and undertaking pasture cropping.

The Dunedoo area and the broader Central West slopes are traditionally known for extensive agricultural land use, blending sheep (wool) and cattle (beef) grazing with mixed cash cropping like wheat, canola, and lucerne. The region typically experiences a moderate but highly variable rainfall of around 620mm annually. The soils in this district are generally a mix of heavy red and black basalt soils as well as productive alluvial loams, making the landscape highly responsive to improved pasture management and soil carbon sequestration.

Interestingly, a variation was applied to the project in November 2020, resulting in certain areas originally listed in the project boundaries being removed. Rejuvenating pastures and carefully managing stocking rates are particularly essential in this region, given its vulnerability to the severe drought cycles typical of central NSW.