Republicans follow Tester’s lead to biochar research network

Biochar is produced by cooking organic biomass from agricultural and forestry wastes in the absence of oxygen in a process called pyrolysis. Biochar sequesters carbon and got a boost during the Obama Administration so more applications for it are still being advanced by the US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station. In Bonner, Montana retired Forest Service project manager Dave Atkins is developing his own biochar production concept with yard landing waste and timber too small for commercial harvest. 

According to a 2013 Argonne National Lab study the Black Hills National Forest is highly suitable for biochar harvest. But, as Jim Neiman mulls the shuttering of another sawmill other mill owners are converting the kilns that dry lumber to biochar production.

Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) is an organic farmer and a leading voice in the advancement of biochar so Sen. John Thune (Trump-SD) apparently sees Sen. Tester's  vision. Readers who know the ag mags and media can see where rural state Republicans tout their brand of corporate welfare while voting against any money for blue states. The Farm Bill pork is just waiting to be diced and sliced. 

The Biochar Research Network Act would authorize $50 million in Agricultural Research Service (ARS) funding to set up a network of up to 20 research sites around the country dedicated to studying biochar. These sites would study biochar in a diverse range of settings in order to evaluate the technology’s benefits for soil health, crop production, potential soil carbon sequestration, the climate, and the wood products industry. Tester has long been Montana’s leading champion for family farmers and ranchers. He secured $100 million for biochar and wood product innovation in his bipartisan infrastructure bill to turn low value forest material into a commercial product to help promote forest management. [Tester introduces bipartisan biochar research legislation to support Montana farmers]

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) has just secured $2.5 billion for mitigation in the aftermath of the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak wildfire complex. Harvest of some of that Santa Fe National Forest material could be processed for biochar.

Image: US Forest Service.