Messner Carbon Project 20

Messner Carbon Project 20 is a soil carbon project located in the Shire of Westonia, approximately 300km east of Perth in Western Australia's Wheatbelt region. Registered in August 2024, the project covers approximately 133 hectares.

The project operates under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models Methodology Determination 2021. This methodology credits landholders for increasing soil organic carbon levels through changes in land management practices. Specifically, this project focuses on applying synthetic or non-synthetic fertilizers to address material nutrient deficiencies in the soil. By optimizing nutrient availability, the project aims to enhance plant growth and root biomass, which in turn sequesters more carbon into the soil profile.

The Westonia region is characterized by a semi-arid Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cool winters. The landscape is dominated by broadacre agriculture, primarily winter cereal cropping (wheat and barley) and sheep grazing. Soils in this area are typically sandy loams or duplex soils (sand over clay), which can be prone to acidity and nutrient deficiencies that this project seeks to rectify.

Messner Carbon Project 20 appears to be part of a larger aggregation of projects involving the Messner family property, as indicated by the existence of similarly named projects (e.g., Messner Carbon Project 1 and 21) in the same locality. The project is developed by Agriprove, a prominent soil carbon project developer in Australia known for utilizing digital soil mapping and satellite data to streamline the baselining and crediting process.