While biochar has been garnering attention as a restorative soil amendment, it seems as if new uses for this ultra-porous material are cropping up all over the industrial landscape. Recently, biochar has been making waves in agriculture not for use as a soil amendment, but for its use in animal feed and other animal husbandry applications.
While more research is needed on the topic, existing research on biochar in this category of applications looks highly optimistic.
Why Biochar?
Biochar is a carbonaceous material created through the pyrolysis of biomass, a process often carried out in a rotary kiln with a limited oxygen environment.
This thermal treatment, combined with the characteristics of biomass, yields a charcoal-like material with a unique physical structure and chemical makeup. In short, biochar offers an incredibly vast surface area on which to capture and hold minute particles. This lends it to providing a habitat for microbes, as well as adsorbing undesirable components.
While these characteristics and the origin of biochar have led to its explosive growth in restoring barren soils, researchers are beginning to discover that these same capabilities can offer more to agriculture than just soil replenishment.
Benefits of Biochar as a Feed Additive
The past few years of research have shown that the addition of biochar to animal feed may have the potential to offer a number of invaluable benefits. Among them:
Improved Digestion
Biochar has been shown to promote improved digestion in animals.
Increased Immunity
As an adsorbent, biochar has been shown to lock up toxins in the digestive tract. This maintains the balance of microbial activity and avoids subsequent damage to the animal’s digestive system.
Reduced Chronic Botulism
Botulism in cows has been an increasing concern in recent years.
One study administered a charcoal-sauerkraut mix to cows suffering from chronic botulism and found it could be a useful tool in controlling the condition.²
Increased Feed and Energy Efficiency
The addition of biochar to poultry feed has been shown to improve the absorption of energy from feed, ultimately improving the efficiency of the feed.4
Increased Growth Rates
Increased growth rates and final body weights in broilers as a result of biochar have also been documented, though it is also recognized that too much biochar can have the opposite effect.5
Reduced Methane Production
Methane is produced in the rumen of animals such as cows as part of their natural digestive process, a process referred to as enteric fermentation. Methane production from ruminants is recognized as a major contributor to greenhouse gases, and as a result, has become a growing topic of research.
A 2012 study conducted on enteric methane production showed that the addition of biochar in cattle feed provided a habitat for methane oxidation and microbial activity in the rumen, ultimately reducing net methane production.³
In addition to these benefits, the authors of another study noted the following apparent effects of using biochar in cattle feed:¹
- Overall improved health and appearance
- Increased vitality
- Increased udder health
- Reduced hoof issues
- Decreased diarrhea
- Post-partum health stabilization
- Decline in mortality rates
- Increased milk protein and/or fat
- Reduced odor of slurry
- Better viscosity of slurry
The many benefits biochar can offer to animals is likely to result in improved overall health, which some speculate could also mean a boost in productivity, with some studies already proving as much. But the benefits of biochar don’t stop after digestion; biochar excreted as manure maintains the soil-restoring properties biochar is known for, adding an additional value proposition to farmers.
A cattle and avocado farmer in Australia began feeding his cows biochar with the intention of adding it to his soils. He relied on dung beetles to bury the biochar-laced manure deep in the ground.
After integrating biochar into the soil, he was able to omit the use of fertilizers on pastures due to improved soil fertility. His cows also showed improvements.
Biochar in Improving Hygiene Conditions
As an adsorbent, biochar can capture and hold gas particles. As such, it has also been investigated for improving hygiene in chicken coops.
Coop hygiene has long been a challenge among producers. With many animals in the same space and in constant contact with their excrement, coops are an easy host for pathogens, creating a breeding ground for bacteria.
To complicate matters, ammonia is produced from the excrement, yielding another set of problems; ammonia can pose environmental problems, is toxic and highly odorous, and can result in many adverse effects on the health of the flock.
In addition to reducing the moisture content of litter (another major help in the effort to keep coops clean), adding biochar to litter can significantly reduce this harmful gas. Similarly, the use of biochar in litter allows for a reduction in lime, which in turn reduces the pH of the litter, and subsequently, reduces ammonia emissions.4
This has some producers looking at a closed loop system to integrate biochar into their operations. In the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, biochar made from broiler litter is being looked at for use as a feed supplement for broilers in order to lessen nutrient overloading on soils and to promote the economic benefits of increased weight gains and feed efficiency.
Conclusion
Biochar’s ability to capture and hold minute particles is proving to lend itself to more than just a restorative soil amendment; with benefits such as improved digestion, increased immunity, the promotion of better overall health, and capabilities in improving coop hygiene, biochar is likely to gain a strong foothold in animal husbandry.
FEECO engineers and manufactures custom rotary kilns for the production of biochar, as well as rotary dryers for drying biomass in the production of biochar. For more information, contact us today!
Sources:
- Gerlach A, Schmidt HP: The use of biochar in cattle farming, the Biochar Journal 2014, Arbaz, Switzerland. ISSN 2297-1114 www.biochar-journal.org/en/ct/9 Version of 01 th August 2014.
- Gerlach H, Gerlach A, Schrödl W, Schottdorf B, Haufe S et al., (2014) Oral Application of Charcoal and Humic acids to Dairy Cows Influences Clostridium botulinum Blood Serum Antibody Level and Glyphosate Excretion in Urine. J Clin Toxicol 4:186. doi: 10.4172/2161-0495.1000186
- Leng R A, Preston T R and Inthapanya S 2012: Biochar reduces enteric methane and improves growth and feed conversion in local “Yellow” cattle fed cassava root chips and fresh cassava foliage. Livestock Research for Rural Development. Volume 24, Article #199. Retrieved May 24, 2017, from http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd24/11/leng24199.htm
- Gerlach H, Schmidt HP: Biochar in poultry farming, the Biochar Journal 2014, Arbaz, Switzerland. ISSN 2297-1114. www.biochar-journal.org/en/ct/10 Version of 01 th August 2014. Accessed: 24.05.2017
- https://www.bcac.bc.ca/sites/bcac.localhost/files/Ardcorp_Program_Documents/Supplementing%20Broiler%20Feed%20with%20Biochar%20%28Report%29_0.pdf