Gemma Soil Carbon Project

Gemma Soil Carbon Project is a soil carbon sequestration project located near the locality of Kumarah, approximately 45km north of Narrandera and 50km southeast of Griffith in the Riverina region of New South Wales. The project was registered in February 2024 and currently covers an area of 1,402.80 hectares, following a variation in October 2025 that removed specific land parcels from the project area.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models) Methodology Determination 2021. This methodology rewards landholders for increasing Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) levels through changes in land management. For this specific project, the registered activity is applying synthetic or non-synthetic fertilizers to address material nutrient deficiencies in the soil. This activity is designed to boost plant growth and, consequently, the amount of carbon returned to the soil.

The Riverina region is a major agricultural hub known for mixed farming, including broadacre cropping (wheat, barley, canola) and livestock grazing. The environment is classified as semi-arid to temperate, typically receiving between 450mm and 500mm of rainfall annually. The soils in the Kumarah and Narrandera area are predominantly red earths and chromosols, reddish, loamy soils that are well-suited to cropping but benefit significantly from carbon-building practices to improve structure and water retention.

The project proponent, Loam Carbon Pty Ltd, is an Australian biotech company specializing in microbial seed coatings. While the official project activity lists nutrient application, Loam Carbon is widely known for its "CarbonBuilder" fungal inoculum, which is often integrated into cropping systems to enhance the stability of carbon stored in the soil. The variation in late 2025 suggests a refinement of the project boundary, likely to exclude areas unsuitable for the specific carbon farming activities or to align with updated operational zones.