While a long-time advocate of cover cropping, since 2017, Distell's agricultural specialist Henk van Graan has been applying a new level of urgency to promoting soil health.

He wants to accelerate carbon sequestration and advance soil life through microorganisms. One of the ways he is doing this is by generating biochar at Nederburg.

Although not new (it has been used in the Amazon for millennia) biochar is charcoal produced from plant matter (biomass). When used as a soil additive, it not only removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but it creates an environment conducive to boosting microbial populations while building soil structure, reducing soil acidity, and generally decontaminating the soil.

Because it is so porous, it absorbs, retains, and aggregates water and increases organic soil life, ultimately lowering the need for inputs such as additional water and chemical fertilisers.

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