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 8,245.39 hectares of pastoral land within the Brigalow Belt.

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 agricultural management activities that increase soil organic carbon levels. For Stuart's Creek, the primary activity involves altering the stocking rate, duration, and intensity of grazing. This approach, heavily aligned with regenerative agriculture, aims to improve ground vegetation cover and root mass, thereby sequestering more carbon in the soil compared to historical baseline levels.

The Roma region is characterised by a semi-arid to sub-tropical climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 600mm. The landscape at Stuart's Creek is traditionally used for cattle grazing and features a balance of open downs country and lighter forest or woodland, transitioning into stronger brigalow belah and bottle tree scrub. The area typically consists of fertile clay and loam soils.

This project has a notable corporate history. It was originally established by Packhorse Pastoral Company, an investment fund dedicated to regenerative agriculture, on a property historically renowned for breeding Hereford bulls. Following the tragic death of the fund's founder in 2022, the property was acquired by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) in August 2023 for its Queensland Natural Capital Fund (QNCF). As a result, the project proponent officially changed from Packhorse to QNCF Stuarts Creek Operations Pty Ltd in March 2024. QIC now manages the land to generate both financial returns from cattle and environmental returns from carbon and biodiversity, even registering the project with Accounting for Nature to monitor koala and woodland bird populations on the site. Carbon Link Operations Pty Ltd is also involved, having initially implemented the project's soil carbon baselining.