Wildhorse Soil Carbon Project

Wildhorse Soil Carbon Project is a soil carbon project located on the "Wildhorse" property, approximately 30km southwest of Rolleston in the Central Highlands region of Queensland. It was registered in March 2026 and covers a project area of 4,543.50 hectares.

The project operates under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models (2021) methodology. This type of project involves altering the stocking rate, duration, or intensity of grazing to promote soil vegetation cover and improve overall soil health. It requires physical soil sampling combined with scientific models to estimate the amount of carbon stored in the agricultural soil over time. Carbon Link Operations Pty Ltd is involved as an additional project participant, acting as the soil carbon aggregator to support the management and measurement of the project.

The Central Queensland region around Rolleston is highly regarded for its fertile land, supporting large-scale beef cattle operations that focus on breeding, backgrounding, and finishing cattle on improved buffel grass pastures. The local environment features a semi-arid to subtropical climate with summer-dominant rainfall. Soils in this district are typically highly fertile, deep cracking clays and brigalow scrub soils.

Interestingly, the Wildhorse property was purchased by established Springsure cattle producers Graeme and Sue McDonald in 2015 for $9 million, which set an acreage benchmark for the district at the time. Additionally, parts of the Wildhorse property serve as an environmental biodiversity offset for Glencore's nearby Rolleston Open Cut coal mine. These offset areas are actively managed to protect local wetlands, Eucalyptus Coolabah woodlands, and critical habitat for the vulnerable ornamental snake, showcasing a blend of carbon farming, conservation, and commercial agriculture.