Is Biochar the Solution to More Sustainable Farming?

The Missouri Organic Association will recruit a total of 80 farms to participate in a project that will test the effects of biochar usage in agriculture.

Biochar’s origins lie in the ancient Amazon, but program manager with Missouri Organic Association Jackie Casteel says it “fell to the wayside.” That is, until recently.

The carbon- and nutrient-dense substance, made from biomass like wood chips or animal manure, is the star player in a new project that MOA is pioneering through the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Program. Biochar traps microorganisms that can sequester carbon emissions in the soil for long periods of time, lessening farmers’ environmental impact. It can also help farmers by holding things like fertilizer in the soil.

“Having some aspect of biochar added with fertilizer helps hold it in place in that field, rather than it run off and waste their money on their input,” Casteel says.

The project proposal was accepted Dec. 2022 and rolled out Sept. 2023. The first steps of implementation are being taken, and the first four participating farms are set to begin applying biochar this spring.

MOA is not the only organization working on this project. They have multiple partners, including Lincoln University and Missouri State University who each have professors leading teams of graduate students in research. Missouri State University will have students creating a marketing toolkit to help inform farms of the project, and Lincoln University Professor Dr. Sougata Bardhan will be leading students in researching how the addition of biochar changes various greenhouse gas emissions and soil conditions.

“[Biochar] can create healthier environments, it can change microbial ecology, it can change the functioning of the system,” Bardhan says.

Bardhan says he had prior connections with people at MOA, so he was immediately interested in being involved in the project. He says although some use of biochar originated in ancient times, the study of it is fairly new and he is fascinated by it.

“There is lot more to study,” Bardhan says. “So it is always exciting to study something and learn more.”

Casteel says that although the participating farmers will be compensated for their time and will not have to pay for the biochar, a lot of education and outreach is required to convince farms to participate in the project.

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