Tarramba Brahmans. Photo: Agriprove

THE first of series of 15 different soil carbon projects in Central Queensland have started generating carbon credits.

Adam and Tracy Gunthorpe signed up to the project through AgriProve and have this week been issued 9214 Australian Carbon Credit Units by the Clean Energy Regulator.

Signed up in 2021, the project was part of Meat & Livestock Australia’s producer demonstration sites.

“We’re part of a trial with MLA to experiment on our land and test how different grazing techniques impact the grazing intensity of our business so we can discover what works best for us,” Mr Gunthorpe said.

“We liked the AgriProve model. While we paid for the upfront sampling, partnering with AgriProve was more cost effective over the lifetime of the project from a cashflow perspective for us, even though they take a relatively larger percentage of end credits.”

“These credits boost the value of our family land. We’re in this for the long haul as we have 24 years of carbon project ahead of us, but we’re impressed with the speed of turnaround.

“Climate has varied my entire life with wet and dry periods. We’re using the carbon project to help us build resilience. If you’re passionate about your land and improving it the benefits will follow.”

The Gunthorpes run 3000 head of cattle with 900 breeding cows across 20,000 acres in central Queensland. They manage 15 individual soil carbon projects as part of the wider Howson Carbon Project area at Tarramba.

Adam is Vice Chair of a Brahman genetic improvement group that sell through an online platform. The group is called Frontier Genetics and they use Estimated Breeding Value (EBV) data to progress profitability through transparent, predictable and environmentally responsible beef genetics.

The Howson Carbon Project land management strategy revolves around grazing intensity. Adam and Tracy incorporate rotational grazing and are proactive in matching their stocking rate to carrying capacity.

As part of their soil carbon project they improved watering systems and installed fencing to subdivide paddocks. This provides rest periods which work to enhance grazing intensity across the agribusiness. They have also invested in legume and grass improvements that have helped increase biomass across the project.

The Howson Carbon Project also serves as one of three Producer Demonstration Sites in a research project with Meat and Livestock Australia exploring the impact of soil carbon on grazing enterprises and how it can contribute to the industry’s carbon neutral by 2030 target (CN30).

We have been truly impressed by Adam and Tracy Gunthorpe’s long term commitment to improving the quality of their soil health and it is great to see the reward for their management effort in the issuance of ACCUs,” Agriprove managing director Matthew Warnken said.

“Their long-term commitment also aligns well with the long term nature of soil carbon projects under the ACCU scheme and the robustness of the soil carbon calculations which focus on long term validation of underlying changes in soil carbon stocks.”

Source: Agriprove