Benefits of Biochar

This is Tim Hammerich of the Ag Information Network with your Farm of the Future Report.

Improving soil health can be a long process, but can farmers accelerate things by adding amendments? Wendy Lu Maxwell-Barton is the executive director of the International Biochar Initiative. She says adding biochar to cropland can provide some big benefits.

Maxwell-Barton… “So, on one hand, it can help farmers adapt to climate change challenges, by improving the soil health, and in particular, by improving the soil's water absorption capacity. So, that means that both in times of drought or flooding, their soil is going to retain water longer after having Biochar applied, as well as be able to deal with flooding better.”

Maxwell-Barton says that water isn’t the only precious resource that biochar can help retain.

Maxwell-Barton… “It can help them reduce their use of chemical and petroleum based fertilizers and other type of soil health products. And that can help them lower costs while still having similar or better yields. And again, it can help reduce their irrigation needs, which we know is going to be increasingly a big issue in a lot of parts of the U. S.”

She added that carbon sequestration is yet another added benefit of biochar.