Thanks to Barry Batchelor for identifying this story on research under way by the South Australia No-Till Farmers Association. Note the much lower application rates that may better reflect the economics of biochar utilisation in broad acre applications. http://www.theland.com.au/news/agriculture/cropping/general-news/biochar-creates-options/2663817.aspx?storypage=0 … Continue reading
Barry Husk from www.blue-leaf.ca has posted to the biochar discussion groups as follows… “Just a quick note to give some preliminary results, 1st harvests, from our 2013 biochar field trials on small fruit: Blueberries Patriot Highbush variety 5 replicate plots … Continue reading
The Canadian Biochar Consortium have initiated a large-scale on-farm trial to determine the viability of different types of biochars for agriculture use. Another focus, less relevant to New Zealand under the present political climate, is the use of biochar as a tool … Continue reading
“Deep soils store up to five times more carbon than is commonly reported, a new study by Murdoch University and Cranfield University in the UK has found. Soil locks in greenhouse gases by storing carbon, making it a crucial player … Continue reading
The British Biochar Foundation have generously provided video recordings on all presentations from their recent conference in Oxford. The conference was broadcast live as well… lets hope this is a new trend for remote conference attendance. … Continue reading
The ABE site will have a lot of valuable research results. On the education page, I would like to see some interpretation of these results for gardeners and small farmers, as well as more conventional farmers, with practical help in … Continue reading
It’s great to see this website coming together. I welcome the communication with biochar enthusiasts world-wide, and especially the opportunity to connect with the research and practical activity taking place in NZ. I first learned about biochar from Albert Bates … Continue reading
How will the application of biochar in NZ soils affect nutrient flows in farming and agriculture systems? How would these changes affect the assumptions used in Overseer? Maybe after further research in NZ on nutrient retention and the environment benefits … Continue reading
I am linking in this article by Hans-Peter Schmidt on his ithaka website. Hans-Peter is a leader on biochar in Europe and he writes well on a range of biochar application subjects. I plan to link into more of his … Continue reading
The following article is one of many I’ve seen that have biochar research opportunities blazing at me. Facilitating for more field based research could be one of our roles in the future. I look forward to seeing your comments on … Continue reading