Orana Farm Healthy Soils Project

Orana Farm Healthy Soils Project is a soil carbon sequestration project located at Orana Park in the locality of Rheola, approximately 50km northwest of Bendigo in Central Victoria. Registered in May 2018, the project spans an active area of 3,501.66 hectares across a larger 4,674-hectare property. The broader Loddon region is known for a mix of broadacre cropping and livestock grazing, with Orana Park historically operating as a conventionally fertilised farm before diversifying into restorative agriculture and olive horticulture.

Soil carbon projects operate under methodologies designed to increase soil organic carbon levels through modified agricultural practices. Under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models methodology, this project implements multiple eligible activities to build soil health. These include converting from intensive to reduced or no-tillage practices, retaining crop stubble, undertaking new irrigation, and altering grazing intensity to promote vegetation cover. The project also remediates the land by applying gypsum, lime, and nutrients, specifically transitioning from expensive compost to locally developed liquid biofertilisers.

The project area experiences a relatively dry, temperate to semi-arid climate with an average annual rainfall of 400-500mm. The soils in the Loddon catchment generally feature sandy loams transitioning into red duplex soils and heavier clay subsoils, which can be prone to compaction under conventional farming without proper remediation.

Originally registered under the 2018 measurement methodology, the project updated to the 2021 estimation methodology in March 2022 to better measure and model continuous carbon increases. The property is managed by the Tiverton Agriculture Impact Fund and serves as their cornerstone demonstration asset for sustainable agriculture. In addition to its soil carbon objectives, Orana Park manages substantial natural capital; the property has recorded over 70 bird species and features a protected wildlife sanctuary set aside in remnant vegetation to enhance local biodiversity alongside its commercial farming operations.