Messner Carbon Project 25

Messner Carbon Project 25 is a soil carbon sequestration project located in the Shire of Westonia, approximately 316km east of Perth and 55km east of Merredin in Western Australia's Wheatbelt region. It was registered on August 5, 2024, and covers an area of 476.59 hectares. The Westonia region is predominantly known for its agricultural land uses, specifically broadacre wheat cropping and sheep farming, alongside historical gold mining.

The local environment experiences a dry Mediterranean to semi-arid climate, classified as low rainfall with an annual average of approximately 331mm. The project is situated on the Yilgarn Craton, where typical soil profiles include yellow deep sands, sandy gravels on catchment divides, and clay or shallow sandy duplex soils on the valley slopes and floors.

The project operates under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models (2021) methodology. Soil carbon projects involve increasing the amount of carbon stored in agricultural soils by undertaking new or materially different eligible management activities. Standard requirements for this methodology include rigorous baseline soil sampling, ongoing measurement or modelling of soil carbon levels over the permanence period, and maintaining the newly adopted management practices.

For Messner Carbon Project 25, the specific project activity involves applying nutrients to the land in the form of a synthetic or non-synthetic fertiliser to address a material soil deficiency. Interestingly, this project is part of a large, sequentially numbered portfolio of at least 25 identically named "Messner" carbon projects. These are managed by the proponent, Agriprove Solutions Co No.2 Pty Ltd, which is a major project developer in the Australian soil carbon market.