CCC Northern Breeders project

The CCC Northern Breeders project is a beef cattle herd management project located across two distinct regions in North Queensland: one approximately 20km south of Greenvale (in the Valley of Lagoons district) and another roughly 20km southwest of Collinsville (in the Burdekin region). Registered in May 2022, the project is operated by Cunningham Cattle Company Pty Ltd (a subsidiary of Gunn Agri Partners) and focuses on improving the emissions intensity of their northern breeding herds.

The project operates under the Beef Cattle Herd Management methodology. This framework credits producers for reducing the amount of methane and nitrous oxide emissions produced per kilogram of liveweight. Key activities for this project include increasing the weight-to-age ratio of the herd, reducing the average age of the animals, and removing unproductive animals (such as empty cows) to improve overall herd efficiency. By optimizing these metrics, the proponent aims to produce the same amount of beef with fewer emissions.

The locations identified by the project coordinates, near Greenvale and Collinsville, are situated in the North Queensland Dry Tropics. This region is characterized by a semi-arid to tropical savanna climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. The Greenvale area is known for its basalt soils and grazing lands (often associated with the Valley of Lagoons), while the Collinsville area features mixed alluvial and clay soils typical of the Burdekin River catchment.

Cunningham Cattle Company manages a large portfolio of over 1 million hectares across Queensland, including major stations like Abingdon Downs and Esmeralda Station in the Gulf Country. This project likely integrates specific breeding blocks or agistment properties within their broader supply chain, which moves cattle from northern breeding grounds to southern backgrounding properties (such as their Maranoa aggregation) for finishing. The company is also known for utilizing digital tools like AgriWebb to track individual animal performance, a critical component for verifying the data required for this carbon method.