Cullen Wines Wilyabrup soil carbon project

Cullen Wines Wilyabrup soil carbon project is a soil carbon project located at Wilyabrup, approximately 20km north of Margaret River in Western Australia. It was registered in June 2021 and currently covers an area of 83.75ha.

Soil carbon projects operating under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models methodology involve increasing the amount of carbon stored in agricultural soils by undertaking new or materially altered land management practices. For this project, standard activities include altering the stocking rate, duration, or intensity of grazing to promote soil vegetation cover, as well as re-establishing or rejuvenating pastures through seeding and pasture cropping.

The Margaret River and Wilyabrup area is world-renowned for viticulture, alongside dairy farming and livestock grazing operations. The region experiences a Mediterranean climate characterized by high winter rainfall. The local environment features well-drained, lateritic gravelly loams over clay bases (commonly referred to as Wilyabrup soils), which are highly favorable for deep-rooted vines and cover crops.

This project is managed by Cullen Wines with the assistance of agricultural carbon consultancy Carbon West. Cullen Wines is a pioneer in biodynamic winemaking and has impressively operated as a carbon-positive business since 2019. To build their soil organic carbon, the winery sows multi-species cover crops consisting of up to 12 different plant varieties, prioritizing native seeds when possible, during mid-autumn and late spring. These cover crops are then crimped and left to decompose into a thick mulch layer that significantly improves soil health and water use efficiency. The project also successfully secured a $36,000 grant from the WA State Government’s Carbon Farming and Land Restoration Program to help advance its initiatives. Originally registered under the 2018 soil carbon methodology, the project transitioned to the 2021 determination in December 2022, and subsequently expanded its project boundaries with newly added areas in February 2023.