Another surprising report (with audio feed) showing how far NZ biochar activities are behind Oz. The cascading use of biochar is a strong theme being promoted in Europe.

…”The trial is based on the work of a Middlesex cattle producer, Doug Pow. Mr Pow has been feeding biochar to his cattle for three years, to observe the dung beetle activity and effects on his pastures. Mr Pow says he became interested when he observed other producers using machinery to inject charcoal into the ground. “I thought I’d see if I could test the hypothesis, if I fed some charcoal to the cow, the beetles would bury the charcoal deep into the ground,” he says. “And the positive effects of the charcoal in the ground would be enhanced by the fact that it would be more biologically active.”…

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-11/dung-beetle-dairy-trial/5515130#

I’m not up to speed on dung beetle trials in NZ but maybe a collaborative research opportunity?

Related to animal feeding is this new webpage under construction by David Yarrow on poultry…

www.dyarrow.org/poultry