MacDonald Carbon Project

MacDonald Carbon Project is a soil carbon sequestration project located approximately 42 kilometres east of Dubbo in the Central West region of New South Wales. It was registered on June 11, 2021, and covers an active area of 438.89 hectares.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative-Measurement of Soil Carbon Sequestration in Agricultural Systems) Methodology Determination 2018. Soil carbon projects involve storing carbon in agricultural soils by altering on-farm land management practices. Standard requirements include establishing a carbon baseline through direct soil core sampling and laboratory analysis, implementing eligible new agricultural activities, and conducting subsequent measuring rounds over a long-term permanence period to quantify the actual carbon sequestered.

The Dubbo Regional Council area and the wider Central West are major agricultural hubs known for mixed farming enterprises, predominantly sheep and beef cattle grazing alongside winter cropping like wheat and canola. The region typically experiences moderate, transitional semi-arid rainfall, averaging roughly 500 to 600 mm annually. Soils in the area are typically Red Chromosols (often referred to as red-brown earths), Tenosols, and structurally complex Sodosols, which provide good agricultural capability but require careful management to prevent structural and carbon decline.

This project was established to increase carbon in the agricultural soil by specifically altering the stocking rate, duration, or intensity of livestock grazing. Notably, on February 23, 2022, a variation was applied to the project area, removing some originally listed parcels of land from the overall project boundary. The project is managed by Agriprove Solutions Pty Ltd, one of Australia's prominent soil carbon tech companies and ACCU project developers.