Cooeeanna Carbon Project 1

Cooeeanna Carbon Project 1 is a soil carbon sequestration project located approximately 9km southwest of the town of Lock on the central Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. Registered on September 12, 2025, the project covers 162.79 hectares of agricultural land within the District Council of Elliston.

The project operates under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models methodology (2021). This method rewards landholders for increasing soil carbon stocks through improved management practices. Specifically, this project aims to sequester carbon by applying synthetic or non-synthetic fertilisers to address material nutrient deficiencies in the soil. By optimizing soil nutrition, the project intends to boost plant growth and root biomass, which in turn drives the accumulation of organic carbon in the soil profile.

The region surrounding Lock is predominantly utilized for cereal cropping (wheat and barley) and sheep grazing, serving as a major grain storage hub for the peninsula. The environment is characterized by a semi-arid climate with annual rainfall typically between 300mm and 400mm. The local soils are commonly calcareous earths and sandy loams, often shallow and overlying calcrete. These soils are naturally susceptible to nutrient deficiencies and low water retention, making the project's focus on nutrient management particularly relevant for improving both productivity and soil health in this landscape.