Biofertilizer

Home Grown Fertilizer for Sustainable Agriculture

Feed the Soil not the Plants

griculture is amidst a paradigm shift from a 20th Century view of soil fertility as chemistry, to emerging 21st Century insights that soil is biology – The Soil Food Web, and all the living organisms it supports, and is supported by.

Carbon-Smart Agriculture relies less on chemicals and synthetic fertilizers, more on soil biology, probiotic treatments & holistic management to optimize soil carbon, minerals & microbes. A minimum of natural mineral sources are catalysts to trigger a population explosion of microbes & larger organisms that sustain nutrient cycles & true fertility.

A new generation of biological “fertilizers” based on probiotic strategies are already sprouting on the market.  The shift from toxic, unbalanced chemistry is rapidly rippling through American agriculture.  Selecting, formulating, preparing, applying, and evaluating these products is challenge to a PhD scientist.  Delivering soil fertility to 21st Century biological farmers will see many new products, service and businesses appear.  Maybe even a new “Cool-Food” label.

At Terra Char, we don’t just make & market biochar.  Our mission is to deliver functional, effective fertility to farmer.  Our goal is to regenerate Midwest soils to support a full diversity of biology again, as they did centuries years ago.  Soil fertility stewardship is the foundation of food quality, community economy and ecological sanity.

Our objective is to blend biochar with other soil ingredients and provide growers with products adapted to their soils and crops.  Our products must be simple and easy to use in production agriculture.  Our vision is small-scale facilities that convert biomass into biochar, compost, microbial cultures, compost teas, blended biofertilizers, bioenergy, and biofuels.

“Biolyzer” is our new word for these new generation of biological soil enhancements.

Effects on Soybeans
TerraChar + SumaGrow + SEA-90 

Buckner Farm, Columbia, MO

In spring, at planting time, a thick solution of SumaGrow, SEA-90 & Terra Char powder were sprayed on soil in a 5-acre test plot in a 65-acre field.  No fertilizer was applied.  No other treatments.

On October 3, inspection showed far better shoot & root growth in the 5-acre test plot, many more Rhizobial nodules on roots, and nearly 3 times as many seed pods per plant.

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Regenerative Ranching
with rotations & cover crops
Gabe & Paul Brown, Bismarck, North Dakota

Every 1% increase in organic matter results in 20,000 gallons more water stored per acre.

Gabe Brown