Brigadoon Carbon Project

The Brigadoon Carbon Project is a soil carbon sequestration initiative located in the Riverina region of New South Wales, approximately 60km southwest of West Wyalong and northeast of Griffith. Registered in December 2025, the project covers 1,287 hectares of agricultural land. The surrounding landscape is characterized by dryland cropping and grazing operations, typical of the NSW South West Slopes and Riverina transition zone.

The project operates under the "Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models (2021)" methodology. This method credits farmers for increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks through changes in land management. Unlike older methods that relied solely on physical soil sampling, the 2021 determination allows for the use of models to estimate carbon changes in between sampling rounds, reducing the cost of compliance. To generate credits, the project must demonstrate a net increase in SOC relative to a baseline, maintained over a 25 or 100-year permanence period.

Environmental conditions in this part of the Riverina are semi-arid to temperate, with rainfall generally averaging between 450mm and 500mm annually, often winter-dominant but variable. The soils in the region are predominantly Red Chromosols and Red Kandosols (often called "red-brown earths"), which are well-suited to cropping but can be hardsetting and low in organic matter without careful management.

The proponent, Loam Carbon Pty Ltd, is a prominent developer known for utilizing microbial technology to enhance soil carbon. While the project activities are officially listed as applying nutrients to address deficiencies, Loam Carbon typically employs a specialized microbial seed inoculum (CarbonBuilder) that encourages plants to store more stable carbon in the soil. This suggests "Brigadoon" is likely a grain cropping property adopting this biotechnology alongside standard fertilizer optimization to boost both yield and carbon sequestration.