Biochar is a specialized form of charcoal made from waste woody biomass at high temperature in the absence of oxygen. It is used as an effective soil amendment to improve soil moisture and soil health, and is currently being researched as a means of carbon sequestration. As a compost additive, biochar can also help more effectively manage other organic waste streams such as grape pomace, retaining and recycling nutrients.
Join us for a two-part virtual training series to explore the benefits of biochar, production and application on vineyards, and the results of recent field research studies. Tickets are pay-what-you-want with a recommended donation of $20 for LIVE members / $40 for non-members for one session or $30 members / $50 non-members for both sessions.
REGISTER HERE: https://livebiochar.eventbrite.com
Session 1: Tuesday, January 12 from 3-4:30pm PST
- Biochar 101 (Kelpie Wilson, Wilson Biochar Associates)
- Biochar field trials and the Biochar Atlas Tool (Kristin Trippe, USDA Agricultural Research Service)
Session 1 will introduce biochar production, characterization, application, composting, and best practices. We will discuss NRCS cost share programs for biochar application to soil, present preliminary results of field trials, and describe the Biochar Atlas Tool for matching biochar characteristics to specific soils and crops.
Session 2: Thursday, January 14 from 3-4:30pm PST
- Biochar vineyard trials (Josiah Hunt, Pacific Biochar)
- Biochar on-site production using flame carbonizers (Kelpie Wilson, Wilson Biochar Associates)
Session 2 will present two years of harvest data from a vineyard field trial in which biochar and compost (combined and separate) were applied during pre-plant soil prep. Plant growth response and economic outcomes will be presented, as well as supplemental and anecdotal information from related research and the economic implications of carbon credits for biochar applications that have just been issued for the first time in North America. In this session you will also learn about low-cost techniques for making biochar on the farm from woody residues, including grape vines.
Speaker Bios:
Kelpie Wilson is a writer and a mechanical engineer with a passion for wild nature and renewable energy. Early in her career she worked for several companies that were developing Stirling-cycle heat engines. Throughout the 1990s, she was a forest protection advocate with the Siskiyou Regional Education Project. She then turned to journalism and worked for Truthout.org for four years, covering environment and energy. After learning about biochar, she moved to a project developer position at the International Biochar Initiative where she managed the multi-stakeholder process to create the first set of standards and testing guidelines for biochar. Since 2012, she has been a consultant helping biochar companies, NGOs and government agencies understand biochar markets and production technologies. She pioneered development of the Flame Cap Kiln biochar technology for use by forestry contractors, arborists and farmers, and presents many workshops each year bringing this technology to end users. She is a founding board member of the US Biochar Initiative, and she lives in rural Oregon, where she makes biochar compost and grows a large organic vegetable garden.
Kristin Trippe, Research Microbiologist at USDA and US Biochar Initiative Board Member, became interested in microbes, molecules, and methods that remediate degraded soils and increase agricultural productivity as an undergraduate. She pursued this interest in graduate school where she studied the role of fungi in remediating organic pollutants in the environment. After she received her PhD, Dr. Trippe joined the Agricultural Research Service in Corvallis, Oregon. There, her laboratory studies focus on the effects of biochar on soil health and microbial community dynamics. Her laboratory developed the Pacific Northwest Biochar Atlas, an online decision support toolkit that connects producers and users of biochar-based amendments. Her laboratory has also examined the role of biochar in rangeland restoration, mine reclamation, forest-to-farm biochar systems, soil water dynamics, pesticide absorption, and increasing agricultural yields, as well as a broad spectrum of studies focused on natural products and microbial biochemistry. Dr. Trippe has been a leader in the biochar research community. She co-organized the ARS Biochar Roadmap workshop and has led several other local, regional, and national efforts to coordinate biochar research efforts. She has served on the Board of Directors of the US Biochar Initiative since 2018 and is the current Chair of the Soil Biology and Biochemistry Division of the Soil Science Society of America.
Josiah Hunt graduated from UH Hilo in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Agroecology and Environmental Quality. Since 2008 he has helped to pioneer methods for biochar production, processing, and application in farming systems using organic and biological approaches. He is founder and CEO of Pacific Biochar.
United States