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Biochar can be a powerful tool in protecting the environment within and around farms. Through sorption, biochar can decrease atmospheric ammonia emissions, limit nitrate leaching and runoff, decrease phosphate pollution and remediate contaminated soils effectively. This is because of its exceptionally porous structure at multiple scales and vast surface area.

Black Bull Biochar | Press Release | 20 June, 2024

When used effectively, biochar can increase plant productivity and yield by up to 30%. Tailored biochar products designed for nutrient retention can even significantly reduce mineral fertiliser requirement, especially when it is applied as an additive to organic fertilisers.In soil, biochar can stimulate nutrient cycling to convert forms of nutrients which are unavailable to crops into available forms. It does this through nutrient mineralisation, desorption, and dissolution processes. This increases the fertilisation value of biochar beyond its direct nutrient delivery.

Biochar is highly porous at multiple scales, giving it a vast pore volume. This structure can absorb significant amounts of water and dissolved nutrients within the pore structure and between particles. Using biochar as a soil amendment can improve the water-holding capacity of soils and, eventually, plant available soil water by up to 28.5%.

Biochar is a carbon-rich soil additive made by heating biomass in a low-oxygen environment - a process called pyrolysis. Pyrolysis chemically transforms the carbon in biomass, which forms stable aromatic ring structures that are resistant to decomposition and decay. This means that when biochar is added to soil it can remain for hundreds to thousands of years.

When added to organic fertilisers like slurry or farmyard manure, or indirectly as a component of bedding, biochar can significantly improve its nutrient value to crops while decreasing carbon and nitrogen losses. This not only decreases ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions from the manure, but can also reduce the amount of mineral fertiliser needed on farm. In this Biochar Basics, we talk about how you can use biochar to make the most of your manure.

On farm, our biochar is a valuable addition to animal bedding in both cubicles and loose housing. When added to a base bedding material such as straw other mixed with sawdust, our biochar can provide benefits including: improved nutrient retention, decreased ammonia emissions, improved foot health and odour control. This Biochar Basics will explain how it works to provide these benefits, and how to use it to get the best outcome on your farm.

Given the vast array of potential benefits, use systems, and available feedstocks, navigating how to best implement biochar use on farm is not always straightforward. Understanding how biochar works to deliver sustainability and soil health improvements will help guide you in selecting the right biochar products and achieving your desired outcomes.