Hodges Carbon Project

Hodges Carbon Project is a soil carbon project located in the Moira Shire, approximately 25km north-east of Shepparton in northern Victoria. It was registered in June 2022 and covers a project area of 158.66 hectares. The surrounding region is predominantly dedicated to broadacre agriculture, including intensive cropping and grazing. The local environment typically experiences a temperate climate with average annual rainfall ranging between 400mm and 600mm. Soils in the area largely consist of red-brown loams and heavy clays, particularly Vertosols (cracking clays) and Sodosols, which are common to northern Victoria's agricultural zones.

Soil carbon projects registered under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models (2021) methodology are designed to capture and store carbon within agricultural soils. The standard requirements of this methodology mandate that landholders implement at least one new or materially different land management activity. The subsequent changes in soil organic carbon must then be tracked and estimated using a combination of rigorous direct soil sampling and models.

At the Hodges Carbon Project, the landholders are undertaking several eligible activities to boost soil carbon. These include applying nutrients to the land, via synthetic or non-synthetic fertilisers, to address a diagnosed material deficiency. They are also converting from intensive tillage practices to reduced or no-tillage systems, and retaining crop stubble in the paddocks after harvest to return organic matter to the soil. Developed by the proponent Agriprove Solutions Pty Ltd, the project not only aids in generating Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) but also works to improve soil structure and farm fertility. To date, the project's successful measurement and sequestration efforts have resulted in the issuance of 290 ACCUs.