Kilter Rural Lower Goulburn Soil Carbon Project (Revoked)

The Kilter Rural Lower Goulburn Soil Carbon Project (Revoked) was a soil carbon sequestration initiative located approximately 15 kilometers north of Kyabram in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria. Registered in June 2021, the project covered 262 hectares of agricultural land within the Campaspe Shire. The project was voluntarily revoked in May 2025 under Section 30 of the CFI Rule, meaning the proponent withdrew the project, likely before the permanence period commenced.

This project operated under the Measurement of Soil Carbon Sequestration in Agricultural Systems methodology. This method requires land managers to implement specific activities, such as applying nutrients, lime, or gypsum, and altering tillage practices, to increase soil organic carbon levels. The carbon gains are verified through physical soil sampling and measurement rather than modeled estimates, providing high-integrity data but often incurring higher monitoring costs.

The Goulburn Valley is a major irrigated agricultural zone characterized by a temperate, semi-arid climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 450mm. The region's soils are predominantly red-brown earths (Red Sodosols), which often feature heavy, sodic clay subsoils. The project's specific inclusion of gypsum application aligns with the need to remediate these sodic soils to improve structure and water infiltration.

Kilter Rural, the proponent, established this project as a pilot for its Australian Farmlands Fund (KAFF), intending to demonstrate how regenerative cropping systems, shifting from old pasture to crops like deep-rooted canola, could monetize soil carbon. It was noted at the time of registration as one of the few soil carbon projects focused on cropping rather than grazing. The revocation suggests that despite the initial ambition to test the methodology on high-value irrigated land, the project may have been consolidated, sold, or deemed commercially unviable as a standalone carbon offset operation.