Local farmers’ interest was sparked at GeoCatch’s ‘Discovering Biochar: A Guide for Farmers, Foresters, and Gardeners’ workshop, gaining a newfound respect and enthusiasm for biochar and how it can be incorporated in an agricultural setting.
Participants were lucky to have an extensive panel of presenters including Professor Stephen Joseph AO, a globally recognized authority in renewable energy and biochar, with decades of hands-on and academic experience, Kathy Dawson, dung-beetle expert from Warren Catchment Council and Doug Pow, Manjimup avocado and beef farmer, with years of experience incorporating both biochar and dung beetles into his enterprise.
Prof Joseph led the day, providing a foundation of what exactly biochar is, how its produced, its applications and environmental benefits.
Biochar is produced from organic materials such as wood, agricultural residues, or manure through a process called pyrolysis. The materials undergo a transformation during pyrolysis, leaving behind a form of carbon that can be added to soil to improve its properties.
“Biochar is an old technology that has been used by indigenous people in Australia with cool burning”, said Professor Joesph.
There are many benefits to using biochar, however its important to recognize that different biochars applied under different applications will have different effects.
“One of the outstanding features of biochar is that it can increase water holding capacity”, said Professor Joseph.
It also can enhance soil structure by reducing compaction and increasing soil aggregation, reduce nutrient leaching by adsorbing and holding onto nutrients, and promote soil microbial activity where the biochar provides habitat and food source for soil microbes. As a stable form of carbon, when its incorporated into the soil it can also help to sequester carbon mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.
Doug Pow, presented a local case-study on his experience of using biochar in orchards, as animal feed and for pasture improvement. Taking the lessons learnt from Professor
Stephens, Doug provided practical insights into the benefits and challenges of implementing biochar on farms.
Kathy Dawson also shared her experience using biochar on farms and shared insights of how local farmers are utilising biochar in conjunction with dung beetles to improve soil health and productivity.
Feedback from participants has been positive, with many expressing newfound enthusiasm for incorporating biochar into their practices.
Yelverton farmer, Melia Brent-White said “This workshop has been so valuable. Our farm has been in soil regeneration transition for the past three years using regenerative agticulture practices, and our next focus is on biochar. We’ll be experimenting using our farm materials to make biochar in small batches for our soil”.
This event was part of a series of GeoCatch workshops, all aimed at increasing farmer knowledge on the benefits of improving soil health, and effective strategies on how to achieve it. For more information on GeoCatch’s sustainable agriculture program, visit geocatch.asn.au/farm-management/ or call us on 0491 069 078.
This event was supported though funding from Soil Wise. Soil Wise is funded by the National Landcare Program Smart Farms Small Grants – an Australian Government initiative. It is supported by Healthy Estuaries WA – a State Government program.
Photo: John Fry, Stephen Joseph, Harriet Wyatt, Kathy Dawson, Doug Pow.
