Stone Axe Beef Herd Management Project

Stone Axe Beef Herd Management Project is a beef cattle herd management project located approximately 15km west of Rocky Gully in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Registered in February 2025, the project is operated by Corporate Carbon Advisory on behalf of Stone Axe Pastoral, a prominent Australian producer of ultra-premium Wagyu beef. While the specific project area size is not publicly detailed, the coordinates place it in a region characterized by high rainfall grazing properties and forestry plantations.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Beef Cattle Herd Management) Methodology Determination 2015. This methodology credits livestock managers for reducing the emissions intensity of their beef production. By implementing activities such as improving herd genetics, changing the ratio of livestock classes, and reducing the average age of the herd (turn-off age), the project aims to produce the same amount of beef with fewer methane emissions. This aligns closely with Stone Axe Pastoral's vertically integrated operations, which focus on high-value Full Blood and Crossbred Wagyu genetics.

The Rocky Gully and Frankland River region is situated in a high-rainfall zone (averaging 600–800mm annually), supporting productive perennial pastures. The soils in this area are typically ironstone gravels and sandy loams, often associated with the Jarrah and Marri forest landscapes.

A notable aspect of this project is its registration timing. The application was submitted on 29 November 2024, less than three weeks before the Australian Government suspended new applications for the Beef Cattle Herd Management method on 17 December 2024 due to integrity concerns raised by the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (ERAC). As a result, this project is among the final cohort of beef herd projects to be registered under the 2015 methodology.