Thorby Carbon Project

Thorby Carbon Project is a soil carbon sequestration project located in the locality of Pallamana, approximately 12 kilometers northwest of the regional center of Murray Bridge in South Australia. Registered in August 2021, the project covers an area of roughly 367 hectares. While originally registered in 2021, the project's crediting period was varied to commence in February 2023, a common strategic move to align the 25-year crediting window with the actual deployment of new management activities or the completion of baseline soil sampling.

The project operates under the 2018 Soil Carbon Methodology (Measurement of Soil Carbon Sequestration in Agricultural Systems). This method requires landholders to switch from historical farming practices to new, eligible activities that increase soil carbon stocks. To generate credits, the project proponent must measure baseline carbon levels and verify increases over time through subsequent sampling rounds.

The Pallamana region lies within the Murraylands, an area characterized by a semi-arid, Mediterranean climate with annual rainfall averaging between 350mm and 380mm. The local landscape is defined by the Pallamana Land System, which typically consists of gentle slopes and flats featuring sandy soils, specifically thick loamy sand surfaces over red sandy clay loam subsoils. These soils are often naturally low in fertility and susceptible to wind erosion, making them well-suited for the project's specific activities of reduced tillage and stubble retention, which help stabilize the soil structure.

The project is managed by Agriprove Solutions and involves three distinct management changes: modifying fertilizer regimes to address nutrient deficiencies, converting to no-till or reduced-tillage farming, and retaining crop stubble. It is also part of a larger fixed-delivery carbon abatement contract held by Agriprove, which aggregates multiple soil carbon projects to meet delivery obligations to the Australian Government.