Justin Costello

Farmer, Upper Murray region of VIC

My name is Justin Costello, and together with my family I run Wabba Gap Grazing at Tintaldra in the Upper Murray region of North East Victoria, on the foothills of the Snowy Mountains.

Our property spans 430 hectares, where we operate a specialist Angus breeding enterprise with 360 breeding cows and 120 joined heifers under an autumn-calving system. Alongside the livestock enterprise, we’re committed to regenerative farming practices, rotational grazing, and improving soil and pasture health.

We began our carbon farming project in 2019, before the fires in 2020, 3 good years then 2024 following two challenging drought years that made it clear we needed to evolve our business, strengthen resilience, and manage our pastures and livestock more strategically. The project gave us a pathway to not only improve our productivity but also make a measurable contribution to lowering on-farm emissions and building soil health.

Our eligible activity is a soil carbon project, supported by Agriprove. We are focused on enhancing soil organic carbon levels through regenerative practices such as adaptive multi-paddock grazing, diverse pasture systems, and careful feed budgeting.

In terms of progress, we have completed our baseline soil carbon testing and management changes, and we are proud to share that we have now been issued our first 457 ACCUs. This marks a significant milestone in our journey, and we are continuing to implement improvements as we move towards our next measurement cycle.

For us, the carbon project is not just about credits—it’s part of a broader family and community journey. It’s helping us future-proof our farm, strengthen business opportunities, and share knowledge with other producers in the Upper Murray who are looking at how carbon projects can add resilience and value to their enterprises.