Improved Beef Herd Management 2022

Improved Beef Herd Management 2022 is a Beef Cattle Herd Management project located across a widespread aggregation of cattle stations spanning the Northern Territory and Queensland. Because it covers a vast multi-property portfolio rather than a single localized site, the associated pastoral leases are distributed across remote regions near major towns such as Katherine and Tennant Creek in the NT, as well as Roma, Charleville, and Windorah in QLD. It was registered in June 2022, and while the exact total project area remains unspecified, the regional land use across these locations is overwhelmingly dominated by large-scale commercial cattle grazing.

Beef Cattle Herd Management projects involve altering herd management practices to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions intensity of beef cattle production. Standard requirements dictate that proponents must demonstrate a measurable reduction in emissions (primarily enteric methane) per kilogram of liveweight produced compared to a historical baseline period. To achieve this, the project activities include changing the ratio of livestock classes to increase total annual liveweight gain, increasing the herd's weight-to-age ratio, reducing the average age of the herd, and actively reducing the proportion of unproductive animals in the herd.

Due to the immense geographical scale of the properties involved, the project spans multiple environmental zones. The typical rainfall classification ranges from tropical savanna with distinct monsoonal wet seasons in the northern NT, down to semi-arid, highly variable, and low rainfall climates in central and western Queensland. Correspondingly, the soil types are highly diverse, typically featuring a mix of red earths, sandy loams, and expansive cracking clay plains (vertosols) that sustain native pasture growth for grazing.

This project was originally registered by Corporate Carbon Advisory Pty Ltd, but a participant name variation in May 2025 transferred the proponent status to Valley River Holdings Pty Ltd. Valley River Holdings is a subsidiary entity of Hancock Prospecting, placing these carbon farming efforts directly within Gina Rinehart’s expansive agricultural empire. Hancock Agriculture has been highly active in acquiring premium farmland and cattle properties across Australia in recent years, strategically supporting its high-end luxury beef exports and renowned 2GR Wagyu brand.