Northeast Biochar Symposium

Join some of the brightest minds in biochar on November 13th, 2009 at the Northeast Biochar Symposium. The Symposium will highlight current biochar research and technological advances and provide vital information to public officials, researchers, farmers and landscape professionals, green industry businesses, and sustainable energy professionals. Biochar is considered a significant strategy for removing net carbon from the atmosphere for safe storage in soil, enhancing soil resources, and creating clean energy from agricultural stover and forest biomass.

Symposium Schedule

7:30am – 8:30am Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:30am – 9:00am Welcoming Remarks

9:00am – 10:00am Biochar: Strategies and Potentials – David Laird, USDA

10:00am –11:00am Biochar and Mitigation of Climate Change – Dr. Johannes Lehmann, Cornell University

11:00am – 11:15am Break

11:15am – 12:00pm International Biochar Research – Dr. Christoph Steiner, University of Georgia

12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch

1:15am – 2:45pm Concurrent Panels/Break-Out Sessions

Biochar 101

Dr. Hugh McLaughlin,
Alterna Energy Co.

A basic discussion about how Biochar came into the public eye, char properties, how it fits into soil application, carbon sequestration, and production.

Local Small-Scale Biochar Production

Biochar Production and Greenhouses Heating
Alex English,
Burt’s Greenhouses

Brush/Slash Fuel for Stoves, Furnaces and Gasifiers
Dr. Thomas Reed,
The Biomass Energy Foundation

Farm Units
Peter Hirst, Keziah’s Forge

Soil Biology and Biochar

Effect of Biochar on Microbial Communities
Dr. Janice Theis,
Cornell University

Applying Biochar to Soil: Is It Worth the Expense?
Dr. Jeffrey Novak USDA

Adsorptive Properties of Biochar
Dr. Janice Theis,
Cornell University

2:45pm – 4:05pm Concurrent Panels/Break-Out Sessions

Feedstocks & Characterization

All Biochars Are Not Equal
Dr. Hugh McLaughlin,
Alterna Energy Co.

Designing Biochar Types to Modify Selective
Soil Properties
Dr. Jeffrey Novak, USDA

Lifecycle Assessment of Biochar Systems
Dr. Kelli G. Roberts
Cornell University

Community Ecology & Economy

Community Integrated Design
Peter Hirst, Keziah’s Forge

Carbon Farmers & Grasslands
Abe Collins,
Carbon Farmers of America

Farming w Biochar on Cape Cod
Bob Wells, Redberry Farm

Ongoing Field
Research Initiatives

Mycorrhizae-Inoculated Biochar in Wastewater Remediation
Jacob Kelsey & Felix Wai,
University of Vermont

Biochar in a Small Vegetable Farm
Ron Poitras & Susan Straubing
SARE Farmer Grant Recipient

Biochar in Small Grain Rotations
Adam Dole,
New England Small Farm Institute

4:15pm – 5:15pm Closing Plenary – Biochar and Policy: the UN Climate Talks and Congressional Legislation Debbie Reed, International Biochar Initiative and Christoph Steiner, University of Georgia

5:15pm – 6:00pm Networking, Cash Bar

6:00pm – 9:00pm Dinner & Meeting: Northeast Biochar Initiative