Grassby Carbon Project 5

Grassby Carbon Project 5 is a soil carbon sequestration project located near Caltowie in the Mid North region of South Australia, approximately 40 kilometres east of Port Pirie. Registered in May 2022, the project covers a land area of roughly 217 hectares. The surrounding region is predominantly used for mixed farming, combining dryland cropping (cereals and legumes) with livestock grazing, typical of the Northern Areas Council district.

This project operates under the 2021 Soil Carbon methodology (Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models). This method credits landholders for increasing the amount of carbon stored in their soil compared to a baseline. It generally requires a combination of physical soil core sampling and computer modelling to verify carbon stock changes over time. To achieve these gains, the project activities involve applying synthetic or non-synthetic nutrients to address soil deficiencies, establishing permanent pasture on previously cropped or fallow land, and altering grazing intensity to improve vegetation cover.

The environmental setting for the project is characteristic of South Australia's Mid North, featuring a Mediterranean to semi-arid climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 350mm to 400mm, falling mostly in winter. The local terrain typically consists of red-brown earths and calcareous loams, which are productive for agriculture but susceptible to erosion if vegetation cover is not maintained. By transitioning to permanent pasture and optimized grazing, the project aims to build soil resilience and organic matter in these traditionally cropped soils.

The project is managed by Agriprove Solutions Pty Ltd, a prominent developer in the Australian soil carbon sector. It appears to be part of a larger aggregation of projects (Grassby Carbon Project 1 and 2 also exist in the registry) likely spanning a single large property or family holding in the Caltowie/Crystal Brook area. This "series" approach allows landholders to stage their carbon baselining and project registration across different paddocks or management zones.