Calm Your Farm, Ethical Lamb - Soil Carbon Project

Calm Your Farm, Ethical Lamb - Soil Carbon Project is a soil carbon project located at Werneth in the Golden Plains local government area, approximately 45km south-west of Ballarat in Victoria. It was registered on February 21, 2024, and initially covered an area of 685.80 ha.

The project operates under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models methodology. Soil carbon projects of this type involve building carbon in agricultural soils by adopting new or altered management practices. The amount of carbon sequestered is estimated over time using a combination of direct physical soil sampling, laboratory analysis, and modeled estimates. To increase carbon in the soil, this specific project involves applying nutrients to the land in the form of synthetic or non-synthetic fertilisers to address a material soil deficiency.

The Werneth area and the broader Western District of Victoria are highly regarded for broadacre agriculture, specifically sheep grazing and sustainable cropping. The region typically experiences a cool temperate climate with moderate rainfall. The local environment is characterised by fertile volcanic plains consisting of basalt-derived clay and loam soils, which provide excellent conditions for pasture growth and agricultural production.

The project's proponent is Loam Carbon Pty Ltd, a division of the prominent Australian agritech company Loam Bio, which specializes in microbial soil carbon technologies. The property itself is managed by farmers Suzanne and Evan Lewis, who run the "calm your farm" ethical lamb production model alongside a sustainable cropping system to provide high nutritional benefits for their stock. In an interesting footnote to the project, the farm's sheep operation inspired Suzanne Lewis to become a children's author, publishing a book titled Queenie the Quad Lady based on the true story of a prolific ewe from their front paddock. Additionally, variations to the project area occurred in June 2024 and June 2026, where some originally listed areas were removed from the project.