Whitlam Carbon Project 9

Whitlam Carbon Project 9 is a soil carbon sequestration project located in the locality of Coombe, approximately 25km northwest of Keith in the Upper South East region of South Australia. The project was registered on April 2, 2022, and covers a project area of 196.32 hectares. This region, often associated with the Coorong District, is traditionally utilized for mixed farming, including broadacre cropping and livestock grazing.

This project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models) Methodology Determination 2021. This methodology rewards landholders for increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) levels through changes in land management. The project involves a specific set of new activities designed to build carbon stocks: applying synthetic or non-synthetic fertilizers to address nutrient deficiencies, retaining crop stubble rather than burning or removing it, and converting from intensive tillage to reduced or no-tillage practices. These activities aim to improve soil structure and biomass retention, directly contributing to long-term carbon storage.

The environmental context of the site is typical of the "90 Mile Desert" or Upper South East agricultural zone. The area experiences a semi-arid to Mediterranean climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 400mm to 450mm. The local soil profile, consistent with the Coombe Land System, is dominated by sandy soils, including deep bleached sands and texture-contrast soils where sand overlies clay. These soils are often naturally low in fertility, making the project's focus on nutrient application and biomass retention particularly relevant for improving productive capacity alongside carbon sequestration.

The project is developed by Agriprove Solutions, a leading soil carbon project developer in Australia. It appears to be part of a larger aggregation or series of projects under the "Whitlam" name (such as Whitlam Carbon Project 6), which allows for streamlined management and auditing across multiple landholdings. By implementing these regenerative practices, the project aims to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) while simultaneously enhancing the resilience and health of the farming system.