Westcott Carbon Project

Westcott Carbon Project is a soil organic carbon sequestration project located near Alectown, approximately 30km north of Parkes and 19km south of Peak Hill in the Central West region of New South Wales. It was registered in October 2023 and initially covered an area of 613.17 hectares. In December 2025, a variation was made to the project area, removing some of the originally listed plots from the project.

The project operates under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models (2021) methodology. Soil carbon projects involve actively storing carbon in agricultural soils by altering land management practices. Standard requirements include establishing a rigorously tested baseline soil carbon level, implementing one or more new eligible management activities, and conducting ongoing soil testing or computational modeling to track and prove the increase in soil organic carbon. The specific activity for the Westcott Carbon Project involves applying nutrients to the land, either in the form of a synthetic or non-synthetic fertiliser, to address a material soil deficiency and promote healthier plant biomass.

The Central West region around Parkes is widely known for its broadacre cropping, such as wheat, barley, and canola, alongside livestock grazing operations. The area experiences a semi-arid to temperate climate, typically receiving an average annual rainfall of around 500-550mm, although it is subject to high seasonal variability and cyclical drought. Typical soil profiles in the district consist of red chromosols, red clay loams, red sandy loams, and heavier grey clays in low-lying river areas.

An interesting fact about this project is that the property owner, Neil Westcott, is a fifth-generation farmer who currently serves as the Mayor of Parkes Shire Council. Having successfully transitioned to an all-out broadacre cropping operation over the last 25 years, his family partnered with Loam Carbon Pty Ltd, the project's proponent. Loam Carbon is a prominent Australian agritech company known for its novel fungal inoculant technology, "CarbonBuilder", which works alongside regenerative practices like targeted nutrient application to help unlock and store highly stable carbon in agricultural soils while simultaneously boosting crop productivity.