Shaun Ossinger, Denmark Bulletin

The world biochar market is estimated to reach $5 billion dollars by next year more than 100 people were told at the recent South Coast Biochar Forum. Key speaker Professor Stephen Joseph told the Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee forum that biochar had huge potential to sequester carbon, improve plant and animal health and manage a host of waste streams in the process.

In outlining the publication, Farmers Guide to the production use and application of Biochar, Prof. Joseph said biochar was a safe and stable solid carbon that had been used to improve soils for thousands of years.

Biochar was made from the controlled heating of organic (and plastic) wastes in a process called pyrolysis.

This could be made at home in rudimentary systems or at factory scale in high-tech industrial pyrolysis units.

It had been shown to improve animal health by increasing the efficiency of the rumen.

This results in a marked decrease in methane emissions and improved milk yields and live-weight gain.

Biochar can also work wonders on plants, by acting like a magnetic sponge to increase moisture retention and promote nutrient exchange in the plant’s rhizosphere.

However, biochar varies depending on the feed stock and how it is heated.

Soil constraints must be known and applications should be targeted with suitable char.

This means some people may have used biochar but did not observe any benefits.

This is akin to taking medication for an ailment they did not have.

A starting point is reading the Farmers Guide to the production use and application of Biochar which is available at www.anzbig.org.

Another barrier to biochar uptake has been the lack of commercially-available biochar.

This can be purchased from groups like Fasera Char or made at home.

The farmers’ guide can help people in making biochar on their own properties.

This is an excellent way of ‘recycling’ carbon.

Rather than burning woody waste or taking it to the tip, some of that carbon can be captured and returned to the soil to improve productivity.

Fasera Char has donated a cubic metre of biochar to WICC for anyone interested in running a biochar trial on their property.

To register interest, scan the QR code in the cartoon below. 

This article appeared in the Denmark Bulletin, 29 August 2024.