Greenhill SOC Project

Greenhill SOC Project is a Soil Organic Carbon project located approximately 23km west of Maryborough in the Fraser Coast region of Queensland. It was registered in December 2022 and covers a relatively small area of 40.98 hectares.

Soil organic carbon projects under the Measurement and Models (2021) methodology involve altering agricultural and land management practices to increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil. Standard requirements mandate that proponents introduce at least one new or materially different management activity, such as modifying grazing patterns or seeding new pasture, and verify carbon sequestration through rigorous soil sampling or approved models over the crediting period.

The Wide Bay-Burnett and Fraser Coast region is well known for cattle grazing, cropping, and commercial forestry. The area experiences a sub-tropical climate with moderate to high rainfall. Regional soils can be highly variable but frequently include acidic podzols and clay loams. This environment directly aligns with the project's specific activities, which include applying lime to remediate acid soils, adding synthetic and non-synthetic fertilisers to address material nutrient deficiencies, planting legumes, and altering the intensity and duration of cattle grazing to improve overall soil health.

An interesting feature of this property is its use of carbon "stacking". The original proponent, Greenhill Pastures Trust, also registered an Avoided Clearing of Native Regrowth project (the Greenhill AC Project) on the exact same land aggregation to maximize overall environmental and carbon outcomes. In May 2024, the proponent for this soil carbon project was varied from GPC (QLD) Pty Ltd to Agriprove Solutions Co No.2 Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Agriprove, which is one of Australia's largest and most prominent soil carbon project developers.