Your questions about Human Induced Regeneration, carbon farming and RegenCo answered
About RegenCo
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What is RegenCo?
RegenCo is one of Australia’s leading natural capital businesses, specialising in agricultural productivity, land management and carbon projects.
We work with Australian landholders to develop natural capital regeneration and carbon farming projects that diversify income, and secure long-term food supply and environmental resilience.
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What does RegenCo do?
RegenCo helps landholders diversify their revenue streams through the creation and sale of carbon credits.
We support farmers’ ability to balance their social, environment and financial goals to achieve a strong agricultural triple bottom line.
We partner with likeminded landholders to incorporate Human Induced Regeneration (HIR) and Beef Cattle Herd Management projects alongside their existing enterprises. We take on the carbon project development and management, measuring and reporting, and carbon credit marketing on behalf of landholders, in return for a share of the earned credits.
HIR projects are the most common vegetation carbon projects undertaken by landholders across Australia. They improve the natural capital on which the business is based by storing carbon, but they also provide additional revenue, by adding another enterprise and income stream into the business.
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Who started RegenCo?
Rick Klink and Dr Tim Moore founded RegenCo in October 2019 to deliver agricultural productivity, biodiversity, land management and climate action through natural capital and carbon farming projects, in partnership with Australian farmers.
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Who owns RegenCo?
Our natural capital business has shared ownership between Australian farmers, directors, and investors.
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What experience does RegenCo have in carbon farming?
RegenCo’s team of pastoral and rangelands advisors have extensive history and experience in owning and operating pastoral enterprises across Australia. They are some of the most trusted advisors within their own regions.
Co-founder Tim Moore has deep experience in regenerative farming and carbon projects. He established his first carbon business in 2007, and he has been involved in various carbon markets globally. In 2012, he founded Australian Integrated Carbon (AIC). At AIC, Tim led the development and launch of the joint venture Biodiverse Carbon, now 100% owned by Greening Australia.
CEO Greg Noonan brings compelling experience across agribusiness, finance, and risk management, and boasts a strong track record in business strategy and growth.
RegenCo has an industry-leading executive team and board with more than two centuries of farm enterprise, agronomic, scientific, and investment experience.
Carbon farming
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What is carbon farming?
Carbon farming is a new way of describing agricultural activities that focus on increasing the profitability of a farm by increasing the amount of carbon stored on the property. Carbon can be stored in soil, grass, shrubs, trees, and the leaf litter layer.
Increases in soil carbon content has long been associated with increased farm productivity, including improving yields and crop quality. Carbon can be increased on a property by:
- applying different types of fertiliser
- installing new irrigation with water sourced from privately funded farm water efficiency savings
- seeding a pasture
- changing stocking rates, or the duration or intensity of grazing; and
- planting tree shelter belts to protect crops and soil.
Increases in whole of farm carbon can be dependent on existing carbon levels, soil type, management history, rainfall, and prevailing seasonal weather (for example, if there’s a drought).
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What are the benefits of carbon farming?
Well planned and implemented carbon farming projects should increase farm productivity and profitability, while improving the land. The plans to increase whole of farm carbon stocks should be able to increase a farm’s financial and environmental resilience.
RegenCo can identify ways in which plans to increase farm profitability and productivity can also earn revenue from the creation and sale of carbon credits. By undertaking new regenerative processes and practices and registering the farm as a carbon project, landholders can receive new revenue streams from carbon credit sales that are earned for increases in carbon stocks.
Short term costs and revenue losses can be quickly recovered and surpassed through the generated carbon revenues.
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What strategies can landholders use to farm carbon?
There are many ways to increase carbon stocks on a property and a farm. At the moment, to earn Australian Carbon Credits Units, the Emissions Reduction Fund specifies particular activities which are eligible to earn credits, including:
- Installing new irrigation with water sourced from privately funded farm water efficiency savings.
- Re-establishing or rejuvenating a pasture by seeding.
- Establishing and maintaining a pasture where there was previously no pasture (cropland or bare fallow).
- Altering stocking rate, duration, or intensity of grazing.
- Retaining stubble after crop is harvested.
- Converting from intensive tilling to reduced or no tilling practices.
- Modifying landscape features to remediate soils.
- Using mechanical means to add or redistribute soil through the soil profile.
- Avoiding clearing of native forest.
- Regeneration and or planting of native forest.
- Changing fire regimes.
- Improved herd management.
The Australian government and carbon service providers are working together to simplify the method for measuring and issue carbon credits, which would provide credits across increases of any carbon stocks on the farm.
RegenCo works with landholders to determine and focus on the activities that can best be implemented alongside the existing enterprise and that have the greatest potential to earn additional revenue through the sale of carbon credits.
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How can carbon farming improve productivity for landholders?
It’s well established that increased carbon stocks on an agricultural property improve the long-term productivity of the land and enterprise with improved soil health, enhanced water retention, increased drought resilience higher yields, reduced input costs, healthier animals, and crops.
The challenge for landholders operating an enterprise is the trade-offs between focusing on activities to restore carbon content for future productivity compared to short term output maximisation at the expense of soil carbon content.
With the development of carbon projects and markets, the addition of carbon credit revenue can provide financial resilience through a climate independent revenue stream, and can be the financial buffer, which makes the short-term trade-off a no-brainer.
Carbon farming on degraded land can lead to its regeneration and unlock it for more productive use.
Whatever happens, RegenCo will always work with landholders to design natural capital/carbon projects that supports their enterprise management plan – not the other way around. We help farmers sustain the land that sustains Australia.
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How does a HIR or carbon farming project with RegenCo work?
RegenCo will work with the management team of the property to use the carbon farming project to add value to the enterprise. Together, we design a carbon project that fits in with your enterprise management plan, not the other way around. Your farm and enterprise come first.
RegenCo will also work with you to discuss how you want to use or market your carbon credits, and work with you to determine an appropriate strategy to manage the asset.
RegenCo takes on the role of project proponent, meaning we are the entity ultimately responsible, accountable, and liable for the carbon project to the Clean Energy Regulator. This allows the landholder to focus on running their enterprise, whilst RegenCo will take care of the rest in partnership and support of the landholder.
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Do properties need to be a certain size to be able to farm carbon?
Carbon farming can be undertaken on any size farm and property. However, the current costs of running a registered carbon project and earning carbon credits, may be prohibitive to smaller landholders.
RegenCo currently focusses on large rangelands properties with potential for sequestration increases through changed grazing and land management. We are working to develop scalable technology and processes that allow us to work with much smaller properties and help those landholders enter carbon markets.
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How long does it take to get paid for carbon credits?
The time from project registration to first credits being issued and sold can be as short as 18 months for some HIR projects to at least 3-4 years for some soil carbon projects.
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How can I start carbon farming?
Contact us today for a complimentary (no-cost) desktop appraisal and consultation to determine the potential to increase profitability and integrate carbon farming into your business.
Human Induced Regeneration (HIR)
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What is a Human Induced Regeneration (HIR) project?
HIR projects are the most common vegetation carbon projects undertaken by landholders across Australia. The project focuses on changing land management practices, which helps regenerate vegetation. This improves the natural capital on which the business is based by storing carbon, but it can also diversify revenue streams through the sales of the resultant carbon credits.
The change in management activities is designed to ensure the regeneration attains forest cover, defined as a species mix with the ability to reach at least 2m tall and at least 20 percent canopy cover, assessed at a scale of 0.2 hectares.
RegenCo’s HIR projects run alongside existing enterprise management plans.
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How long is a HIR agreement with RegenCo?
The regulator requires a HIR project to operate for 25 years. RegenCo’s agreements with landholders are different to others, as landholders can opt out at the 10th year and every 5 years after that.
RegenCo understand that 25 years is a long time, and circumstances can change. We aim to add value to a landholder’s enterprise over the first 10 years and anticipate that they would want to work with us through the remaining 15 years of the project.
Soil Carbon
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What is soil carbon?
Soil carbon is a part of the organic matter in soil. It comes from the breakdown of plants, microorganisms, and animal waste material. Soils have varying concentrations of carbon content in them based on the conditions it has been exposed to over long periods of time.
Soil carbon is made up of several “fractions”: the labile fraction made mostly of organics that can decompose further, and the non-labile fraction, that is seen as the carbon that can’t break down further and is stable for a long time.
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What is a soil carbon project?
A soil carbon project involves managing land to encourage increases in carbon content within the soil. When done in accordance with the requirements outlined by the Australian Clean Energy Regulators Emission Reduction Fund, the soil carbon project can earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs).
A project requires:
- Management activities to increase carbon stocks; and
- Sampling the soil to measure changes in soil carbon and provide information regarding soil nutrition and health.
For each net tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions stored in the soils, landholders can be issued a carbon credit. These credits can be sold to the Australian Government, or to companies and other private buyers.
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How are soil carbon stock measured?
There are different methods used depending on what carbon pool we’re looking at. For soil carbon, samples of soil are analysed in a laboratory to determine carbon content.
Explore your Carbon
Opportunity with RegenCo
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