WilcoSands

WilcoSands is a soil carbon project located at Clydebank, approximately 15km northeast of Sale in the Gippsland region of Victoria. It was registered in December 2020 and covers 530.12 hectares.

The project falls under the Measurement of Soil Carbon Sequestration in Agricultural Systems (2018) methodology. Soil carbon projects of this type involve establishing new or materially different eligible agricultural management activities to increase the amount of carbon stored in the land. Standard requirements include taking baseline soil core samples, implementing the new activities, and conducting subsequent soil sampling rounds with laboratory analysis to physically measure the net increase in soil carbon over time.

The Gippsland area near Sale is a major agricultural region, well-known for dairy farming and grazing operations. The local climate is temperate, with an average annual rainfall of approximately 600mm. The soils on the project property are predominantly sandy loam.

To build soil carbon, the project activities include applying gypsum and other synthetic or non-synthetic fertilisers to remediate sodic or magnesic soils and address material nutrient deficiencies. The project is run by Sandra Jefford and Wilco Droppert on their certified organic dairy property, Wilandra Farms. Interestingly, the proponents have transitioned to regenerative agricultural practices, growing multi-species pastures that include chicory, plantain, and lucerne. They also feed their dairy cows small amounts of dried seaweed for nutrients and potential methane reduction, and utilize on-farm solar panels and wind turbines to sustainably power their irrigation systems.