Chatsworth House Carbon Pty Ltd ATF Chatsworth House Carbon Trust

Chatsworth House Carbon Pty Ltd is a soil carbon project located near the small locality of Chatsworth, approximately 25km north of Mortlake and 50km east of Hamilton in the Western District of Victoria. Registered in February 2021, the project covers a significant area of 2,339 hectares. The property, Chatsworth House, is a historic pastoral station established in the late 1830s and is currently operated by Chatsworth House Pastoral Co, led by Tom Whinney and Sarah Whinney. The region is renowned for its premium wool and prime lamb production, utilizing the fertile, rolling plains characteristic of Western Victoria.

The project operates under the 2021 Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models methodology. This framework allows landholders to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) by sequestering carbon in the soil through changes in land management. While the specific registered activity involves applying nutrients to address material soil deficiencies, likely to boost pasture biomass and root growth, the pastoral company is well-known for its broader commitment to regenerative agriculture. This includes high-density rotational grazing strategies designed to improve soil biology and pasture resilience.

Environmentally, the project sits within the Victorian Volcanic Plains, a region defined by its nutrient-rich basalt-derived soils, typically grey or red clay loams. These soils are highly productive but can be prone to waterlogging in winter and cracking in summer. The area enjoys a reliable high-rainfall climate (approximately 600–700mm annually), which supports the dense perennial pastures required to build soil carbon stocks effectively.

An interesting evolution of this project is its administrative history; it originally operated under the 2018 measurement-based method before transitioning to the 2021 model-based method. This shift allows the proponent to use modeled estimates for carbon sequestration (validated by physical sampling), which often reduces the high costs associated with frequent soil coring. The property also serves as an education hub, hosting events on regenerative farming and farm safety.