AACo's Beef Cattle Herd Management Carbon Project

AACo's Beef Cattle Herd Management Carbon Project is a large-scale aggregated agricultural project spanning the Australian Agricultural Company's (AACo) extensive properties across the Northern Territory and Queensland. Registered in June 2019, the project applies to a significant portion of AACo's 6.5 million-hectare portfolio, which includes iconic cattle stations in the Barkly Tableland, the Gulf of Carpentaria, and Central Queensland. Rather than being located at a single set of coordinates, the project operates across diverse regions anchored by major rural hubs such as Tennant Creek (NT), Katherine (NT), Cloncurry (QLD), and Roma (QLD).

The project operates under the Beef Cattle Herd Management methodology, which incentivises pastoralists to reduce the emissions intensity of their beef production. This is achieved by implementing management changes that allow cattle to reach market weight earlier or improve the reproductive efficiency of the herd, thereby reducing the amount of methane produced per kilogram of liveweight. Specific activities for this project include altering herd class ratios to maximise weight gain, improving feed quality through fodder crops, and installing additional water points to optimise grazing distribution.

Given the vast geographical spread, the environmental conditions vary from the semi-arid, black soil plains of the Barkly Tableland to the tropical savannas and sandy loams of the Gulf country. These regions are characterised by distinct wet and dry seasons, where native pasture growth is driven by monsoonal summer rains followed by long, dry winters. The land use is almost exclusively extensive beef cattle grazing, designed to leverage these natural rangelands for breeding, backgrounding, and finishing cattle.

AACo is Australia’s oldest continuously operating company and largest landholder, making this project one of the most significant corporate carbon initiatives in the domestic agricultural sector. In their recent sustainability reporting, AACo highlighted this project as a core component of their strategy to address climate impact, noting that methane from cattle accounts for the majority of their greenhouse gas emissions.