Fifth-generation Arkansas farmer. Agricultural entrepreneur.
Carbon consultant.
I’m Jody Hardin.

20+ Years of Experience In Farming and Agriculture

Featured In 30+ Articles

With 20+ years in sustainable agriculture and carbon farming, I know a thing or two about biochar, carbon credits, and local farming.

My experience in agricultural entrepreneurship and sustainable farming has made me a local leader in both small and mid-sized farm communities. My passion for agriculture has led me on a journey from my family’s 1,000-acre farm in Arkansas to testify on behalf of our nation’s farmers before the Senate Agriculture and Forestry Committee in Washington, D.C., and everywhere in-between.

I help people who are interested in the world-changing power of biochar unleash its full potential by setting up systems to turn their natural agricultural waste into a valuable resource.

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My Experience

Farm Manager, Ol’ Shalom Farms, Inc.

Created Carbon Negative research and demonstration project at Mt. Magazine State Park.

Founding Executive Director of Farm and Food Innovation Center, Inc.

Director of sustainable agriculture demonstration and training center that included programming for sustainable farming techniques and community supported agriculture (CSA) programs.

Past President, Founding Member of Arkansas Farmers Market Association

Awarded USDA Farmers’ Market Promotion Grant for farmer training program for more than 27 small-scale farmers.

What is Biochar?

Save Money and Heal the Planet With Biochar

For over 2000 years, biochar (or biocarbon) has been used to condition soil by reusing the agricultural waste we produce in our own backyards. It is essentially a type of fertilizer that turns organic trash into carbon-dense treasure.

In recent years, changes in the environment and pushes for sustainability have increased the interest in this ancient fertilizer. Modern technology has made biochar production more efficient and accessible to hardworking farmers everywhere.

As a lifelong farmer myself, I understand the hardships of maintaining profitability and ensuring bountiful yields. But what is biochar and how does it help you? Here are your answers.

What is biochar?

Biochar is pure, black carbon made from natural biomass through pyrolysis, a negative emissions technology.

That’s the concise definition. Let’s break it down even further.

The term “biochar” may not ring a bell, but the product is known by different names that are much more familiar. Its most common known form is charcoal, which is traditionally derived from natural, woody biomass.

Biochar is made using pyrolysis technology. Pyrolysis is a process in which dry biomass — such as wood chips, bark, tree limbs, rice hulls, and agricultural waste — is heated to over 700 degrees Fahrenheit in a chamber without oxygen.

This heating process can last several hours, during which gasses are produced and escape the pyrolysis chamber, leaving only pure biochar (or pure carbon) as the end product. The leftover gas products are called syngas — short for synthetic gas — and can be used like any type of cooking or heating gas.

What are the benefits of biochar?

Here are just a few of the world-healing benefits of biochar.

Properly cultivated biochar contains living microorganisms and can add fertility to soil that will result in higher-yielding plants. This is because soils containing biochar reduce nutrient leaching and retain moisture better than soils without it.

When used in conjunction with a living compost containing indigenous microorganisms, biochar acts as a catalyst and/or habitat to retain and release nutrients that are locked up in the soil and unavailable for plants by promoting the sustained growth of living microbes.
Biochar is pure, stabilized black carbon that soil microbes are unable to break down unlike other organic material. By utilizing it in our soils as farmers and backyard gardeners, we are capturing carbon and storing it in our land for thousands of years into the future.

There are few ways that are more efficient than this method for sequestering carbon. As a result, this cutting edge research is now finding its way into government research grants and global climate treaties as a widely-accepted negative emissions technology.
Hardwood waste typically rots and returns to the atmosphere as CO2 on the forest floor or in the farmers field. When we instead transform it into biochar, we reduce the amount of CO2 released back into the atmosphere.

This one is a double pay off — a win for the farmer and the environment.
The bio-energy and syngas created from pyrolysis can be captured and harnessed to power machinery and nearby buildings. With proper scaling and investment, there may be opportunities to sell excess power back to the grid.

Numbers don’t lie

How does biochar take unwanted organic waste and turn it into a valuable product? It’s all in the numbers. Take a look at this equation:

3 tons of waste = 1 ton of biochar

A pyrolysis system can convert approximately 9 tons of organic waste each day into various carbon-rich products, which in turn can be turned into carbon credits and cash. Owners of pyrolysis systems also profit by providing disposal for the organic waste of other industries. Let’s say you own a pyrolysis system and a storm creates 18 tons of tree waste in a nearby city. Relief workers for the city will pay you to dispose of the waste on your property.

18 tons of tree waste = 6 tons of biochar

Within two days of collecting the discarded trees, you have created 6 tons of biochar pellets, which you can now use for your own efforts or sell to local farmers.

How can I start using biochar?

Biochar isn’t a “one size fits all” technology. Implementing biochar production systems that will grow with your farm is a complex art. Contact an expert like me and find out on how biochar can start changing your life — and our world — today.