Stuart's Creek Soil Carbon Project

Stuart's Creek Soil Carbon Project is a soil carbon sequestration project located approximately 45km northwest of Roma in the Maranoa region of Queensland. Registered in February 2022, the project covers a massive 8,245 hectares of pastoral land. The area is situated within the Brigalow Belt and is traditionally used for cattle grazing; the property itself has a prestigious history of breeding Hereford bulls.

The project operates under the 2021 Soil Carbon "Measurement and Models" methodology. This framework allows landholders to earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) by introducing new management activities that increase soil organic carbon levels. For Stuart's Creek, the primary activity is altering the stocking rate, duration, and intensity of grazing. This approach, often aligned with "regenerative agriculture," aims to improve ground cover and root mass, thereby sequestering more carbon in the soil compared to historical baseline levels.

Environmentally, the Roma region is characterized by a semi-arid to sub-tropical climate with an average annual rainfall of roughly 600mm. The landscape at Stuart's Creek is described as a balance of "open downs" country and lighter forest/woodland, typical of the region's fertile but often cleared clay and loam soils.

A significant aspect of this project is its high-profile corporate history. It was originally established by Packhorse Pastoral Company, a fund dedicated to regenerative agriculture. Following the tragic death of Packhorse's founder in 2022, the property was acquired by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) in August 2023 for its "Queensland Natural Capital Fund" (QNCF). QIC now manages the land to generate both financial returns from cattle and environmental returns from carbon and biodiversity. To this end, the project is also registered with "Accounting for Nature" to measure and certify environmental co-benefits, specifically monitoring Koala and woodland bird populations on the site.