Improved Beef Herd Management 2022

Improved Beef Herd Management 2022 is a beef cattle herd management project located across Helen Springs Station and Brunchilly Station on the Barkly Tableland, approximately 90 to 120km north of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory. It was registered in June 2022. While the exact project area is unknown, the region is dominated by vast pastoral leases dedicated to large-scale cattle grazing.

Beef cattle herd management projects generate carbon credits by reducing the emissions intensity of beef production. Under the standard requirements of this methodology, proponents must implement new management practices that improve herd efficiency, thereby reducing the methane emitted per kilogram of beef produced. For this project, planned activities include increasing the ratio of weight to age of the herd, reducing the average age of the herd, changing the ratio of livestock classes to increase total annual liveweight gain, and reducing the proportion of unproductive animals.

The Barkly Tableland region is a semi-arid environment characterized by its rolling, treeless plains. The area is dominated by deep, cracking clay "black soil" plains that support extensive Mitchell grass pastures. It receives a relatively low average rainfall of around 350mm per year, with the vast majority falling during the hot summer wet season between November and March.

An interesting note about this project is that the underlying properties (such as Helen Springs and Brunchilly) have historically been part of the famous S. Kidman & Co pastoral empire. In May 2025, the project's proponent role was transferred from Corporate Carbon Advisory Pty Ltd to Valley River Holdings Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting, which has been highly active in acquiring and restructuring agricultural assets and prime farmland across Australia.