Orana Farm Healthy Soils Project

Orana Farm Healthy Soils Project is a soil carbon sequestration project located in the locality of Rheola, approximately 50 kilometers northwest of Bendigo and 20 kilometers west of Inglewood in Central Victoria. The project sits within the Loddon Shire, a region traditionally characterized by mixed cropping and grazing operations. Registered in May 2018, the project currently covers a project area of 3,501 hectares, which forms the majority of the larger "Orana Park" aggregation owned by the proponent.

The project operates under the 2021 Soil Carbon (Measurement and Models) methodology. This framework allows landholders to earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) by increasing the amount of organic carbon stored in their soil. To achieve this, the proponent establishes a baseline using soil core sampling and then implements new management activities, such as changing tillage practices, altering grazing intensity, or adding nutrients, to boost sequestration. The method requires a long-term commitment (permanence period) to maintain these carbon stores.

The Orana Farm environment typically experiences a temperate to semi-arid climate with average annual rainfall in the 400mm–500mm range. The region's soils can be variable, ranging from granitic sandy loams to heavier clays. Notably, the project's specific activities include applying gypsum and lime to remediate sodic and acid soils, indicating that soil constraints are being actively managed to unlock productivity.

The project is the cornerstone asset of the Tiverton Agriculture Impact Fund, a prominent impact investment group. Orana Park is frequently cited as a demonstration site for "Natural Capital" accounting and regenerative agriculture. Beyond standard soil carbon activities, the property features a significant olive grove, a predator-proof wildlife sanctuary for the threatened Eastern Bettong, and newly installed irrigation infrastructure covering over 600 hectares, a high-input activity designed to maximize biomass and carbon storage in an otherwise dryland landscape.