Tucker Carbon

Tucker Carbon is a soil carbon project located at Willaura North, approximately 34 kilometres south of Ararat on the eastern slopes of the Grampians in Victoria. It was registered in March 2021 and covers an area of 1,433.50 hectares.

The Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models 2021 method allows agricultural land managers to earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) by undertaking new land management activities that increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil. It relies on a hybrid approach, combining soil carbon model estimates with physical soil sampling. In this project, the primary activity involves applying nutrients to the land in the form of synthetic or non-synthetic fertilisers to address a material deficiency.

The Willaura area is heavily supported by the local farming industry and is known for broadacre cropping and sheep grazing. The region experiences an average annual rainfall of approximately 500 to 600 mm on the plains, with the nearby Grampians occasionally bringing higher orographic rainfall. The local terrain predominantly consists of undulating plains with brown solodic soils, typically featuring a loam topsoil overlying a clay subsoil.

The project is operated by Celia and John Tucker, who manage "Tucker's Dorper" under their family business, Rhynie Pastoral. The Tucker family has farmed in the Grampians region for three generations and shifted towards regenerative farming practices and Dorper sheep, a hardy, shedding meat breed, in 2010. Their operation utilises strict rotational grazing, which rests pastures for long periods to increase biodiversity and improve the soil nutrient cycle. The project underwent a proponent variation in July 2026, officially transitioning from Tucker's Dorper Pty Ltd to Celia and John Tucker directly. Additionally, the project updated its methodology from the 2018 method to the 2021 determination in August 2022, and reduced its project area in March 2026.