Crowley Carbon Project 1

Crowley Carbon Project 1 is a soil carbon sequestration project located in the Maranoa region of Queensland, situated approximately 40 kilometers north-northwest of the major regional hub of Roma, near the locality of Orallo. Registered on June 7, 2024, the project covers a specific carbon estimation area of 315.76 hectares.

The project operates under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models 2021 methodology. This framework requires the project proponent, Agriprove, to baseline the current soil carbon stocks using physical core sampling. Subsequently, the land manager must implement "new and materially different" management activities, in this case, altering stocking rates, grazing intensity, or introducing pasture cropping, to stimulate root biomass production and store carbon in the soil. Credits (ACCUs) are awarded only after future measurement rounds demonstrate a verified increase in soil carbon levels relative to the baseline.

The Maranoa region is a significant agricultural district dominated by beef cattle grazing and mixed cropping. The environment is classified as semi-arid to sub-tropical with a summer-dominant rainfall pattern, averaging roughly 550mm to 600mm annually. The soils in this area, often associated with the Brigalow Belt, are typically fertile Grey or Brown Vertosols (cracking clays) or Chromosols (texture-contrast soils), which are well-suited for the pasture rejuvenation activities proposed by the project.

An interesting note regarding this project is the likely existence of associated projects (e.g., "Crowley Carbon Project 3" appears in regulatory data), suggesting the landholder is taking a staged approach to registering different paddocks or blocks within their property. This "stacking" strategy is common in soil carbon projects to manage the high costs of baseline soil sampling by spreading them over different financial years.