Smith Carbon Project

Smith Carbon Project is a soil carbon project located at Belhaven Brook Farm in Glenarbon, approximately 60km east of Goondiwindi in the Darling Downs region of Queensland. It was registered in August 2020 and covers 505.48 hectares.

Soil carbon projects operating under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models (2021) methodology involve measuring baseline soil carbon levels and introducing new or materially different management activities to build soil organic carbon. Standard eligible activities include altering grazing intensity or duration, applying nutrients, and rejuvenating pasture by seeding or cropping.

The Darling Downs and Goondiwindi region is widely known for agricultural sheep and cattle grazing as well as broadacre cropping operations. The local area experiences a sub-humid to semi-arid climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 630mm. The project area is situated along the Macintyre Brook and is primarily characterised by light sandy soils.

This project was established by landholders Sophie and Adrian McInnerney in partnership with AgriProve to increase soil carbon in their agricultural system. To achieve this, the property applies nutrients to the land, rejuvenates pastures, and has implemented rotational grazing management techniques to optimise plant growth and improve groundcover. The farm runs a flock of 800 Australian White ewes, which support their direct-to-consumer "Macintyre Brook Lamb" business.

The Smith Carbon Project successfully generated 1,362 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) within its first three years. It is also one of the first projects to pass AgriProve's Carbon Intensity Assessment, proving the farm successfully sequesters more carbon than it emits and operates beyond net-zero carbon intensity. The project originally commenced under the 2018 soil carbon method before officially varying to the updated 2021 methodology in April 2023. Furthermore, in March 2021, the project's proponent was updated to Agriprove Solutions Pty Ltd.