McEwan Carbon Project 3

McEwan Carbon Project 3 is a soil carbon project located in the Southern Mallee region of South Australia, approximately 25km northwest of Pinnaroo. It was registered in April 2022 and covers a project area of 351.37ha.

The project operates under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models (2021) methodology. Soil carbon projects involve undertaking eligible new agricultural management activities to increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil. Standard requirements include conducting rigorous baseline soil sampling to measure existing soil carbon, implementing permanent changes in land management, and using physical measurements and models to track the increase in soil organic carbon over a permanence period, which is nominated as 25 years for this specific site.

The Southern Mallee area is heavily utilized for broadacre dryland cropping, particularly wheat and barley, alongside sheep grazing. The region is classified as semi-arid with a low typical rainfall profile. Soils in this landscape generally consist of sandy loams, sand over clay, and calcareous (limestone-based) soils.

This project was set up to sequester carbon directly into the agricultural system by applying nutrients via synthetic or non-synthetic fertilisers to address material soil deficiencies, converting from intensive tillage to reduced or zero-tillage practices, and retaining crop stubble after harvest. Interestingly, this project is part of a larger portfolio of adjacent sites, operating as one of at least six consecutively numbered "McEwan Carbon Projects" managed by the proponent, Agriprove Solutions Pty Ltd.