Courtice Carbon Project 9

Courtice Carbon Project 9 is a soil carbon sequestration project located in the Upper South East region of South Australia, approximately 60km south of Pinnaroo and 50km north of Bordertown. Registered in November 2021, the project covers 373.66 hectares of agricultural land situated near the South Australian-Victorian border.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Measurement of Soil Carbon Sequestration in Agricultural Systems) Methodology Determination 2018. This methodology requires the project proponent to physically measure soil carbon levels over time to demonstrate sequestration. Land management activities implemented to achieve this include altering grazing intensity, applying synthetic or non-synthetic fertilizers to address nutrient deficiencies, and rejuvenating pastures through seeding. The goal is to build soil organic carbon, which generates Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) based on the measured increase relative to a baseline.

Regionally, the land use is dominated by mixed farming, including broadacre cropping (wheat, barley, pulses) and livestock grazing (sheep and cattle). The environment is characterized by a semi-arid to Mediterranean climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 330mm to 400mm. The soils in this "Mallee" district are typically sandy loams or duplex soils (sand over clay), which can be prone to water repellence but offer significant potential for carbon accumulation when management practices improve soil structure and biology. The project's "Number 9" designation suggests it is part of a larger aggregation of properties managed by the Courtice family or entity in partnership with AgriProve.