Barnes Carbon Project (Revoked)

The Barnes Carbon Project (Revoked) was a soil carbon sequestration project located approximately 15km southwest of Biggenden in the Fraser Coast region of Queensland. Registered in May 2021, the project covered 117 hectares of agricultural land before being voluntarily revoked in October 2023. The surrounding Biggenden and Coalstoun Lakes area is renowned for its rich agricultural capacity, supporting a mix of beef cattle grazing, broadacre cropping, and horticulture.

The project operated under the Measurement of Soil Carbon Sequestration in Agricultural Systems methodology. This method requires landholders to implement new management activities, such as altering stocking rates, rotational grazing, or improving fertilizer efficiency, to increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil. Unlike estimation-based methods, this approach relies on physical soil sampling to measure carbon stock increases over time, awarding one Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) for every tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent sequestered.

Environmentally, the region experiences a sub-tropical climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 770mm, predominantly falling in the summer months. The area is geologically distinct, featuring fertile volcanic soils known as Ferrosols (red clay soils) and Vertosols (cracking clays), which are generally considered highly suitable for soil carbon projects due to their capacity to hold organic matter. The project was revoked under Section 30 of the CFI Rule, which indicates a voluntary withdrawal by the proponent, AgriProve Solutions, often occurring when a project is deemed commercially unviable or the landholder opts to exit the scheme.