Biochar Holds Great Potential For Rural Northwest Communities

Researchers at Washington State University are looking at the potential biochar holds for farming communities and timber communities alike. Biochar is woody materials and forest residues converted into an amendment used to improve soil productivity. Mike Brady, an Ag economist at WSU, said while the Northwest is uniquely positioned to provide char to the farming community, the question of demand remains.

“Our region is interesting because you have a lot of forests and you have a lot of agricultural land close to each other.  And so it really helps if the supply is really close to the potential demand and we just happen to have the confluence of events right here.”

Brady added biochar has the potential to be a win-win for timber communities across the region.

“There’s a lot of new uses of forest products that are kind of relative to the traditional, what we’ve seen over the last century to century and a half.  So it’s a potential nice additional demand center for forestry products for the region.”

Brady added in addition to the demand question is the environmental questions. Some have said biochar can help with carbon sequestration, but he noted additional research in that area needs to take place before such claims can be made.

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