2020 AGE CLASS, LIMESTONE PLANTATIONS

2020 Age Class, Limestone Plantations is a commercial plantation forestry project located in the Green Triangle region of South Australia, approximately 25 kilometers north of the major regional city of Mount Gambier. Registered in March 2020, the project covers a net area of 281 hectares. The surrounding region is widely recognized as one of Australia's premier forestry zones, dominated by vast softwood (Pinus radiata) estates and grazing land. The landscape sits on the Limestone Coast, characterized by fertile sandy loam soils over a limestone base and a reliable high-rainfall climate (averaging over 700mm annually), which creates ideal conditions for rapid timber growth.

The project operates under the Carbon Farming Initiative-Plantation Forestry methodology. Specifically, it utilizes the conversion from short-rotation to long-rotation activity. This involves shifting the management strategy of the plantation from producing woodchips or pulp (harvested young, typically around 12–15 years) to producing high-quality sawlogs (harvested at maturity, typically around 30 years). By extending the growth cycle, the trees grow larger and store carbon in the wood fiber for a significantly longer period before harvest.

A notable development for this project occurred in May 2025, when OneFortyOne Plantations Pty Ltd became the sole proponent. This change followed OneFortyOne's major acquisition of the Limestone Coast estate from New Forests (The Trust Company), a deal that secured thousands of hectares of plantation resources. The project name 2020 Age Class indicates that this specific registration covers the cohort of trees established during the 2020 planting season, allowing for precise carbon accounting based on that specific year's growth trajectory.