Weelhamby Farm Soil Improvement Project

The Weelhamby Farm Soil Improvement Project is a soil carbon project located near Perenjori, approximately 300km north-northeast of Perth in the Western Australian Wheatbelt. Registered in December 2021, the project originally covered nearly 5,300 hectares, though a variation in August 2025 removed specific areas from the project scope.

The project operates under the 2021 Soil Carbon methodology (Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models). This method allows proponents to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) by sequestering carbon in agricultural soil. It requires a hybrid approach of physical soil core sampling to establish baselines and computational modelling to estimate carbon stocks over time. To achieve this, the project involves re-establishing or rejuvenating pasture by seeding and implementing pasture cropping.

The Perenjori region is historically dominated by broad-acre cereal cropping (wheat, barley, canola) and sheep grazing. It is situated in a low rainfall zone (semi-arid Mediterranean climate), typically receiving around 300mm of rain annually. The local environment is characterized by red sandy earth and loamy sands typical of the northern Wheatbelt, which are often low in organic matter, making them prime candidates for improvement through regenerative practices.

This project is notable for being a recipient of the Western Australian Government’s Carbon Farming and Land Restoration Program (Round 1) funding. It serves as a demonstration farm, aiming to prove the viability of carbon farming in low-rainfall environments. The project is integrated with a separate environmental planting initiative on the same property to create wildlife corridors for threatened species such as the Malleefowl.