Westcott Carbon Project

The Westcott Carbon Project is a soil carbon sequestration project located in the Central West region of New South Wales, approximately 20km south of Peak Hill and 30km north of Parkes. Registered in October 2023, the project covers a project area of roughly 613 hectares. The proponent, Loam Carbon Pty Ltd, is a developer known for utilizing microbial technology to enhance soil carbon storage.

The project operates under the 2021 Soil Carbon Methodology (Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models). This method credits farmers for increasing the amount of organic carbon stored in their soil through changes in land management. Standard requirements involve establishing a baseline of soil carbon through physical sampling and then implementing new activities, such as changing grazing patterns, improving irrigation, or applying soil amendments, to sequester more carbon over time. In this specific instance, the registered project activity involves applying synthetic or non-synthetic fertilizers to address nutrient deficiencies, a practice often integrated with broader soil health strategies to support microbial activity and plant growth.

The surrounding Parkes Shire is a significant agricultural hub characterized by a hot semi-arid to humid subtropical climate. The region typically receives an annual rainfall of approximately 560mm. Land use in the area is predominantly mixed farming, featuring extensive winter cropping (wheat, canola, barley) and sheep grazing (merinos). The local soils are variable but often consist of Red Chromosols (red-brown earths) on slopes and cracking clays (Vertosols) on the plains, which are fertile but can be susceptible to compaction and erosion.

A recent variation to the project was recorded in December 2025, where specific areas were removed from the project boundary. This is a common administrative procedure in soil carbon projects to exclude land that may not be suitable for sampling or has undergone land-use changes (such as infrastructure building) that conflict with the carbon estimation area requirements.