Stabilize your crop health with biochar

Biochar is created through the thermal carbonization (pyrolysis) of biomass, including waste wood, hedge trimmings, and other biogenic residues from sources like the food industry. Its porous structure and high internal surface area enable it to store water and nutrients and function as a filter material. These attributes make it a versatile substance with significant potential applications in agriculture, industry, and construction.

Biochar aids in the accumulation of humus in the soil and hinders the leaching of phosphorus and nitrate. It also helps reduce nitrous oxide emissions on agricultural land and decreases the need for irrigation. Furthermore, it boosts plants’ resistance to fungal diseases.

As a soil additive, it can serve as a substitute for peat, thereby helping to preserve peatlands. The degradation of these peatlands due to peat extraction leads to methane emissions, a greenhouse gas approximately 28 times more detrimental to the climate than CO₂.

A use case of tradition meets innovation with sustainable agriculture:

The Andresen family cultivates around 400 hectares of farmland with several hundred animals on the Barslund farm in northern Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. For the fourth-generation family business, sustainability means taking into account the well-being of future generations, whether this concerns the responsible management of cultivation, animal welfare or climate in general.

The question was how to combine conventional agriculture with ecological wellbeing, as any measures must also be economically viable. This is where the innovative use of biochar came into play, offering three major advantages: First, biochar is used as a detoxifying feed for livestock, it then binds nitrogen in the slurry biogas plant, which is then released back onto the farmland. The carbon binding in soil has a lasting effect and favors the build-up of nutrients and humus. The farm thus also saves on fertilizers. In the coming years, they plan to entirely displace all mineral fertilizers. While this is good for the environment, it also safeguards the land for future generations.

Conventional agriculture has reached its limits, however, regenerative approaches enable the farm to secure its yields more sustainably than with all conventional crop protection and fertilizers. Agriculture can store gigantic amounts of carbon. Therefore, the Barslund farm is taking a bold step forward to demonstrate this potential and provide a blueprint for other farms.