Ottley Station Packhorse Pastoral Land Pty Ltd Soil Carbon Project

Ottley Station Packhorse Pastoral Land Pty Ltd Soil Carbon Project is a soil carbon project located at Ottley Station, approximately 50km west of Inverell in northern New South Wales. It was registered in August 2022 and covers a project area of 8,558.52 hectares.

The project operates under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models methodology. This approach involves estimating the increase of carbon stored in agricultural soils by altering land management practices, which must then be verified through rigorous baseline soil testing, subsequent physical sampling, and modelling. For this specific project, the proponents are altering the stocking rate, duration, and intensity of cattle grazing to promote surface vegetation cover and improve overall soil health.

The Inverell region and the broader North West Slopes of NSW are well known for mixed farming, incorporating both livestock grazing and broadacre cropping. The area typically receives a summer-dominant mean annual rainfall of over 500mm. Ottley Station itself features highly productive black clay soils, classified as Vertosols, which lend themselves extremely well to regenerative pasture interventions such as the introduction of legumes and deep-rooted grasses.

An interesting aspect of this project is its corporate history. It was originally established by Packhorse Pastoral Company, which launched with a vision to build a billion-dollar regenerative cattle and carbon portfolio across Australia. Following the tragic death of Packhorse's co-founder, Thomas Strachan, in a 2022 plane crash, the company's agricultural assets were listed for sale. In May 2023, Gina Rinehart's Hancock Agriculture acquired Ottley Station alongside the Moolan Downs aggregation in a deal estimated at $80 million bare of stock. Consequently, the project's proponent name was varied in June 22024 to Valley River Holdings Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hancock Prospecting.