Pannell Carbon Project 9

Pannell Carbon Project 9 is a soil carbon sequestration project located in the Murray Mallee region of South Australia, situated approximately 10 kilometers southeast of the rural locality of Alawoona and 30 kilometers south of the major Riverland town of Loxton. Registered on May 29, 2025, the project covers a land area of 500.83 hectares. The region is traditionally defined by dryland cropping and grazing operations, with the broader Mallee landscape featuring iconic rolling sand dunes and swales.

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 stocks through changes in land management. In this specific instance, the project activities focus on applying synthetic or non-synthetic fertilizers to address material nutrient deficiencies in the soil. By optimizing nutrient levels, the project aims to boost plant growth and root biomass, which in turn draws more carbon from the atmosphere and stores it in the soil profile.

Environmentally, the Alawoona and Taldra area is classified as semi-arid, typically receiving low annual rainfall between 250mm and 350mm. The local soils are characteristic of the Mallee region, often consisting of sandy loams, calcareous earths, and dune sands that can be susceptible to wind erosion if ground cover is not maintained. The project is associated with the Pannell family, who are prominent local barley growers known for supplying malting barley to Coopers Brewery from their properties in Alawoona and Taldra.