Button Carbon Project 1

Button Carbon Project 1 is a soil carbon sequestration project located approximately 10km northeast of the small town of Pingrup in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Registered in March 2023, the project covers nearly 400 hectares of agricultural land within the Shire of Kent. This area is situated in the heart of the Western Australian Wheatbelt, a region traditionally dominated by broadacre mixed farming, including the cropping of wheat, barley, and canola alongside sheep grazing for wool and meat.

The project operates under the 2021 Soil Carbon methodology, which rewards landholders for increasing Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stocks over time. To achieve this, the project has implemented a suite of regenerative agricultural activities designed to boost plant growth and minimise soil disturbance. Specific activities include the application of synthetic or non-synthetic fertilisers to address nutrient deficiencies, thereby maximising biomass production, shifting from intensive tillage to reduced or no-till practices to preserve soil structure, and retaining crop stubble to protect the soil surface and return organic matter to the ground.

Environmentally, the Pingrup region is characterised by a semi-arid Mediterranean climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 370mm, most of which falls during the winter growing season. The local terrain typically features duplex soils, often sandy or loamy surfaces overlying clay subsoils, which are characteristic of the "mallee" landscapes in this part of the state. These soils can be susceptible to salinity and structural decline, making the project’s focus on increasing soil carbon particularly valuable for improving water holding capacity and overall land resilience.