Nicholson Carbon Project

Nicholson Carbon Project is a Soil Organic Carbon project located at Garema, south of Forbes in central NSW. It was registered in December 2023 and currently covers 881ha, following a variation in March 2025 that removed some previously listed areas from the originally registered 954.73ha. The Garema and Forbes region is heavily utilized for broadacre cropping and mixed grazing agricultural operations. The area experiences a moderate, semi-arid climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 525mm, and its environment is predominantly defined by red-brown earths (Chromosols) and heavy clay loams.

Projects utilizing the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models methodology involve calculating existing baseline soil carbon levels and implementing new eligible agricultural management practices to actively sequester carbon. The standard requirements mandate baseline physical soil core measurements alongside ongoing rigorous modelling and testing. For this specific project, the core registered activity is applying nutrients to the land in the form of synthetic or non-synthetic fertilisers to address material soil deficiencies, which enhances the agricultural system's capacity to build and retain soil organic carbon.

A notable aspect of this project is its proponent, Loam Carbon Pty Ltd (Loam Bio), which partnered with the Nicholson family to integrate their proprietary 'CarbonBuilder' technology into the existing 4,000ha farming operation. This specialized fungal seed inoculum uses endophytic fungi to help crop plants draw CO2 from the atmosphere and transform it into highly stable forms of soil carbon. In May 2026, the Nicholson Carbon Project made history by successfully generating an issuance of 4,867 tradeable Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs). This breakthrough milestone marked it as one of the first broadacre cropping operations in NSW to generate carbon credits using this innovative microbial approach, providing a profitable "second crop" for the farmers while simultaneously improving overall soil resilience and productivity.