Down the Wormhole...soybeans and milo by principles and practices of carbon-smart, biological agriculture. After Easter, I was fortunate to enjoy another afternoon with JR learning

Terra Char 573-489-8929 www.terra-char.com

DowntheWormholeJRBollinger‘sStory

firstyearsuccesswithcarbon-smart,biologicalfarming

David Yarrow, April 6, 2016

After last Thanksgiving, I sat down with Missouri bootheel farmer JR Bollinger for a long interview about his experiences in 2015 in his first year of full commitment to growing corn, soybeans and milo by principles and practices of carbon-smart, biological agriculture. After Easter, I was fortunate to enjoy another afternoon with JR learning worm calling.

“IfarmedsincethedayIwasborn.”David“JR”Bollinger

spokequietly,slowly,withcarefulphrasing.“Workedonthe

farmmywhole life. I’m the4th generation to farmhere in

the southeast Missouri Delta. We farm 3,500 acres. Our

maincropsarecorn,soybeans,wheat,andmilo.“

A Search for Life “In 2012, I first dabbled in biological farming on a

reclaimedcoalmine. Agentlemanwithmicrobialproducts

first tickledmybrainaboutdeadsoil. Hechallengedmeto

find an earthworm on this farm. So, Iwent looking, and…

None. I noticed therewasn’t a lot of life. Soil looked like

moondust,vacantoflife.”

First Principle of Biological Farming Dirt is inert, but Soil is alive

More thanmineral dust, soil is a creation of biological

organisms. Soil is not only made by microbes, soil IS the

microbes,andalivingmatrixandinfrastructuretheycreate

tosupporttheirinvisiblecommunities.

JRwent,“So,Isprayedhismicrobemixofbacteria,fungi

andhumatesat1gallon/acreon50acres.Thatyearwasthe

big drought: three full rains on that farm the whole year.

80% losson the1000acres. But50acreswhere I applied

hismicrobesactuallyhadagoodcrop.”

“So,Isaid,‘Maybetheseweelittleguysaresomething.’

”ButwhatreallygotmewasbackhomeinMissouri,the

landmyfamilyfarmedforfourgenerationslookedsimilar.I

looked for earthworms in our soil, for signs of life on our

farm.Landwefarmedwassimilartoreclaimedmineland.”

Observant, thoughtful, JRquestionedwhysoilswereso

lifeless. “Because of the kind of person I am, I started

diggingin,andwow!I’mfortunatetolive

ina timewhen I candigas faras Iwant.

Why is this? Why is that? So many

differentlayersoflife.

“Itinkeredwithmixesundergro-lites

inmybasement toseewhatproductsdo.

In test pots, I saw effects and benefits.

YoucansayIwentdownthewormhole.”

Down the Wormhole JR’s voice softened to begin to speak

of his new farming partners, “When you

dig into what earthworms do, they’re

fascinating. As a kid, I took them for granted as fish bait.

Now, I see all their benefits. Tunnels they make, their

movements in soil, their functions. They’re key to good,

healthysoil.Ifyouhaveworms,youhavehealthysoil.

“Now that I appreciate earthworms, what can I do to

makethemhappy?AnythingIcandoforthoseguys.“

Newinsightsrevealearthwormsarefarmers,too.They

pullplantbiomass into their tunnels,not toeat,butas soft

liningtogrowbacteriaandfungi. Later,awormreturnsto

graze this fuzzy film of mycelium and microbes. Worms

farmtheirtunnels,cultivatemicrobes,andthusspreadthem

throughouttheunderground.

One tonofearthworms inanacreofsoilareaprimary

powerhousetoconvertbiomassintofertilityandgrowth.

Test Plots Urged by positive results and research, JR advocated

changesinfamilyfarmoperations.DavidBollingerSr.—also

a creation of Missouri Delta farming—told me, “I had my

firstfarmwhenIwas13.Myownacre.Sofarmingispretty

muchallmylife.” DavidSr.wasskeptical

ofnewproducts,cautioustospendmoney

forthem.

JRcontinued,“IstartedtalkingtoDad

about biological farming. We started to

farmdifferent,usedifferentmethods.We

startedsmall. Wedidn’tdo itallatonce.

Wedidtestplotsfortwoyears.“We appliedmicrobes to 1000 acres

ofcorn,andreducedfertilizeronpart.We

noticed our plants grew bigger, better.

Wedidn’thavetowaterasmuch.

“In this county, we burn off wheat

stubble for a double crop, fall planted.

Terra Char Biocarbon,Minerals&Microbes [email protected]

After Juneharvest,weburnstubbleand

plant beans. But burning stubble gives

awaygoodieswormsandmicrobesneed.

So,wedidano-tillsecondcropwiththe

microbes,andsawmoreresults.

“We were young at this type of

farming. We didn’t knowwhatwewas

doing, but we were seeing benefits.

Everytimeyouseeabenefit, it’shuman

naturetokeepdoingthat.“

2015: Complete Commitment “So,lastyear,2015,Istuckmyhead

in books, read about bacteria, fungi,

mycorrhizae,covercrops,kelp,fishmeal,

thewholesmorgasboard.

“I saw benefits from microbes, so

what can I do formicrobes? If they do

meafavor,whatcanIdoforthem?They

needtobefed,too.AnythingIcandoto

maketheirsurvivalandfunctionseasier.

It’scommonsense,inmyopinion.

“So, I dug into what makes their

environment better, like conservation

tillage. Iseeitas ‘farmingmicrobes’,versusjustapplyinga

chemical. I dug into new products. When we applied

biologicals,allofasudden,boom!—plantsarethriving,crops

arehealthy.Asasideresult,oursoilisimproving.

“Now that I had confidence in biological methods, I

wantedtoapplythisonallouracreage.” JR didn’t need to know IF biocarbon, microbes, trace

minerals,andmetaboliteswork.Hesawconsistentproof.JR

decided put them to work on his farm. Not another tiny,

one-year test plot, but full-scale, long-term application to

fieldsandcrops.Onefield,onecrop,oneyearatatime.

First Encounter March 28, 2015, I met JR at Missouri University

Bradford Research Farm to teach at a Biochar Symposium

sponsored by Phil Blom of TerraChar. Evening before, JR

quizzedmeallthroughdinner. Nextday,afterItaughttwo

hours,JRhadasteadystreamofquestionsinthelobby.

In all my time with JR, he never said much, just kept

asking.Isawhisintensefocustosoakupinformation.This

intelligent young farmer had made his choice and set his

course. My words would result in his

actions.

Clearly, JR did his homework, knew

enough to ask incisive, advanced questions.

Clearly, JR set his mind to master and

demonstrate thisnew farming. He chose to

step in with both feet to implement better

farming. Mygreat joy is topourknowledge

and insight into such an intense, inquiring,

adventurousmind.

We know biochar, trace elements and

microbes are potent in soil—individually,

but much more so mixed together. Can

carbon-smart, microbe-friendly stewardship

of soil be integrated into commercial

farming? Can this be easy, economical,

feasibleforfarmers?

JRhad to bring thesenewproducts

andmethodstogetheronhisfarm,inhis

soil, forhiscrops,withhisequipment—

with maximum effect, minimum

material, no added cost, and utter

efficiency. JR’s challengewas to design

equipment systems tousebiologicals in

large-scale operations. His first corn

plantingwas1000acres.

JR decided to answer his own

questions, design his own equipment,

implementhisownstrategy,usehisown

resources. He knew no off-the shelf

solutions exist. It was his burden to

makethiswork—andconvinceDavidSr.

Inhisheartandgut,JRknewabiological

pathiskeytofarming’sfuture—the21st

century farm frontier. I knew JRwould

makethishappenonhisfamilyfarm.

I didn’t see JR again until after

Thanksgivingforthisinterview.Ididget

aseriesofexcitingphotos.

JR’s Genius First was an impressive assembly of equipment, put

together,madetooperateasaunittodepositnarrowbands

ofbiologicalnutrientspreciselyinseedbeds.Withextensive

farmequipmentknowledgeandsavvy mechanicalexpertise,JRbuiltapparatustoperformamiracleonnearlifelesssoil:

instantlyinstallthefoundationofahealthySoilFoodWeb.JR’s genius isn’t just to build complicated machinery.

Rather, JRdesignedaway tomixnutrientsprecisely in the

rootzonewithminimumdisturbance. Emergingseeds find

nutrientsandsymbioticfungiallaroundbuddingroots.

“These products exist on the market.” JR began to

explaintherighebuilt.“Icustomizedandtweakedthemfor

whatwewanttoaccomplish.”

“Atfront,hangingonthetractor,twoyellowside-saddle

tanks hold liquid nutrients andmicrobes.We inject this 4-

inchoff-centerasaband.Westagger-stepfertilizerinbands

tochaserootstogrowoutward.It’sauniqueconvenienceto

applythisextrabandofnutrients.

“Liquidtankshadeverythingfromsyntheticfertilizerto


fishmeal—a smorgasboard. We tried

different products, all kinds of goodies:

humates, humic acid, sea minerals,

microbes, fishmeal, even biochar

powder. I wanted to give everything a

fair shot, in our conventional way, and

graduallyintroducethebiologicals.

Most microbes JR applied were

liquid. One lab-brewedblend combines

16bacteriaand9fungi,plussupporting

nutrients, like humates, trace elements

and fish meal. The inoculant has free-

living, nitrogen-cycle bacteria and

phosphate-dissolving fungi. The goal is

togettheminunderthesurface,incool,

moist soil with nutrients and

metabolitestoassuretheyproliferate.

Biological Farming Maxim: Feed soil microbes, not plants

Biochar, however, is not a nutrient, and doesn’t break

down in soil—maybe 3%. Char is shelter, not food.

Microbes don’t eat this super-stable biocarbon, they live in

it. Burnt biomass is community infrastructures to house

microbes, with plumbing for water, thin-film wiring for

power and shopping malls of nutrients. Biochar isn’t a

fertilizer, but greatly boosts fertilizer efficiency and curbs

nutrientleachingandoutgas.

Dry Fertilizer Buggy “Montag is our dry fertilizer cart,” said JR. “We get a

blendthatmeetstheneedsofoursoiltest.What’sputinthe

Montagisbasedoffeachfield’ssoiltest.

“Wemixedinanythingfrombiocharfinestocrabmeal,

shrimp meal, SEA-90, humates. The Dawn unit does an

excellent job to mix fertilizer, char—anything that goes

throughthehose—andincorporatethemintosoil.”

“The convenience to use chemicals like urea was

somethingwehadtodo.Youcan’tjustgofullboreintothis.

There’stoomanyvariables.Yougottohavesomechecks.

“With precise strip-till application, and biological

amendments, I had confidence to cut dry fertilizer in half.

We reduced our liquid fertilization as well. We didn’t see

anylag.Ifanything,wesawaboost.”

Dryingredientsareagitatedandsuckedbyvacuumhose

to injectors on Dawn cultivators. When they land in soil,

biochar and fertilizer are mixed intimately. Biochar and

biologicalswere supplied by TerraChar,

a 3-year-old biocarbon business near

Columbia, MO. Owner Phil Blom

deliveredasemi-loadofbiocharsawdust

fines for JR’s soils, plus supporting

minerals,microbesandmetabolite. Phil

was also steady guidance and support

throughthegrowingseason.

Dawn Cultivators A gang of 16 Dawn cultivators ride

behind the tractor, each with injectors

for dry, then liquid amendments. A

complex weave of hoses, tubes and

manifoldsdelivernutrientstoeachunit.

JRexplained,“IuseDawn ‘causewe

have sandy ground. Dawn has waffle

blades,andismoreverticaltill,notdeep

tillage. Itmovesresidueoutof theway

soit’seasytoplantthroughtheresidue.Idon’tdodeeptill,

likewithshanks,becausethisleavesatrenchfertilizertends

togointo.Adeeptrenchcanincreaseleaching.

“One side gets dry fertilizer, all mixed. Then, a few

inches off center, the liquid band is applied. I get precise

nutrient placement this way. Soil between rows isn’t

disturbedatall,soit’seasyonmicrobesinthatzone.

“Dawnkeepssoilwithintheunit.Eventually,dirthitsit,

flies upwhere dry and liquid lines come in. Then hits the

lead edge of a disc blade. That fills up, hits a fender, then

turns,likemixingpottingsoilwithyourhand.

“Dawnfluffssoiltomakeaseedbed.Soilwarmsquicker

in spring to speed up planting dates. It’s a perfect tool to

closely place fertilizers. I love howDawn handles residue,

andkeepsitconfined.”

LastpartofeachDawnunitare“swirlers”—tworolling

wheels with inward-facing fingers that lift and stir soil to

mixingredientsandaeratesoilin4-inchslots.

Biological Farming Maxim: Get it in the root zone

The great benefit of JR’s rig is to concentrate precious

nutrientsandinoculantsinsoilwhereseedswillgerminate,

not broadcast wide, but thin, across the field. JR gently

injectshismenuinadark,moistsub-surfaceworldmicrobes


prefer, not exposed to hot sun and dry wind. Precision

placementandintimateblendingassurescloseproximityof

nutrientsforfast-actingeffects.

Strip-Till First way farmers degrade soil, burn out carbon and

disrupt microbes is tillage. JR now knows tillage is to

earthwormswhatKatrinawastoNewOrleans:catastrophic

infrastructuredegradation. Whyburn fuel tilling, ifworms

willpullbiomassintotheirtunnels?Letwormsdothework.

JR explained, “I call this ‘strip-till’, or ‘conservation till’

becausewedoapercentoftillage.Eachyear,20%ofafield

is tilled in6-inchwidestrips, to leaveanicematofresidue

on80%tosuppressweeds.Wenoticewhenweirrigate,ora

rain,coveredsoilstaysmoistlongerduetothickresidues.

“Residue was completely gone by end of July. I was

fascinated to see how quick it disappeared. We’re talking

heavy,thickresidue.Iwasconcernedthatresidue,plusnew

residue,might be trouble next year,whenwemove tillage

overafewinches.

“I also call this “carbon-smart” or “biological” farming.

It’s a hybrid—combining both traditional and modern.

Really, what we do now is truly traditional. In my life,

traditionalbecameN-P-K,herbicides,lotsoftillageandall.”

Strip-till bands are spaced 30 inches apart. Each year,

guided by GPS, JR will move his rig over a few inches, to

injectanotherbandofbiocharplusinoculants,mineralsand

nutrients.Infiveyears,hewilldepositbiochar,mineralsand

microbes all over his field, and need to use very little

chemicalfertilizer.

JR’srigspreads laborandcost toboostsoilcarbonand

biology over a few years of incremental applications.

Biologicals are integratedwith normal farmoperation, and

their expense is offset by savings on fertilizers and

chemicals. Meanwhile, JR is assured steady income, larger

yields, higher crop quality, improving fertility as soil

regenerates. Slowly, JR will wean his farm off chemical

dependence.

Seed Starter JR described another biological

application at planting, “We also drench

with a seed starter. Weapplybiological

nutrientsinfurrow,rightontopofseeds.

As soon as a seed kicks out of its tiny

nursery sack, I want it in a happy

environment. Another stair-step for

optimumgerminationandseedgrowth.I

only use biological products over top of

seed.I’mrealcautious.

“Later,we sidedress8 inchesoff the

row—another stair-step. You can, at each stage of plant

growth, key in nutrients before it needs them, to sit there

waitingontheplant.

“Weusea lubricantsuchas talc tohelpseeds flowand

not lodge. Thisyear,weusedvery fine,40-micronbiochar

powder and mycorrhyizal inoculant as lubricants. We get

beneficial fungi and biocarbon right by the seed, in direct

contact. What’s nice about biochar powder is spores

definitely stick to charparticles. Powder is tacky, sticks to

myhand,sodefinitelywillsticktoseed.

“Howmuchgooditdid,Idon’tknow,butitcan’thurt.I

knowourseedgerminationwasoffthechartsthisyear.”

Until nutrients are abundant and soil fullymature, soil

nutrients must be supplemented by seed treatment, foliar

feeding, root drenches, and sidedresings. Themost critical

extra feeding is starter food to wake up embryos and

stimulaterootgrowth.

JR used a TerraChar formula to blend biochar powder,

kelp,humicacid, anda commonbacteria. SEA-90supplied

complete trace elements with alkaline charge. Spores of

endo-mycorrhizae added to initiate symbiosis with infant

roots. Fishmeal offered amino acid nitrogen to emerging

embryoandcolonizingmicrobes.

SEA-90’sunrefinedseamineralssupplyabundant trace

elements. The sea is a complete menu of elements in

balanced, fully soluble form. SEA-90 is fast-acting “igniter”

tojumpstartsoilbiology,whichthendigests

rock intonewsoil. Thesame fullspectrum

minerals are in other sea products, packed

in different chemistry: kelp (carbon), fish

meal (amino acids), shrimpmeal (protein),

crabmeal(chitin).

Healthy Start “I planted a population of 34,000.

That’s typical for this day and time. Years

past,Iplanted28to30,000.Myplantercan

changepopulations.Instrongorweakparts

ofafield,Icanchangethepopulation. This

cornwas33,500to34,000.

“Typically, seed companies tell you to push population

up until you get what they call “tipback”—corn will grow,

butnotproducecompleteears. Mycornhad fullearswith

no tipback. Should I increase population more? I don’t

know,butgreaterpopulationdefinitelydidn’tstressplants.

“Corn came up very uniform, germination almost

100%.” JR’s voice leaned forward to tell exciting news of

corn’s summergrowth. “Real interestingwas thehealthof


plantswhentheycameup.Oftencorncomesupinitsearly

stage yellow. You see purpling in inclement, wet

conditions—phosphorusdeficiency.

“Ididn’tseeany,andwedidn’tapplyin-furrowfertilizer

other than pre-planting strip-till. Phosphorus was in dry

fertilizer.Inpast,weputphosphorusrightinfurrow.

“Thisyear,allwedidwasaddmycorrhizalfungi,which

findphosphorusandmove it insoil. Did ithaveeffect that

quick? What was going on there? I don’t know, but I do

knowwedidn’thavepurplecorn.

The Right Choice Early June, a photo arrived of JR in head-high corn. I

couldn’t see his face, but I knew hewas smiling. His corn

was 16 inches taller than neighbors, with thicker, longer

leaves,distinctdarkergreen.Hiscornhadmorechlorophyll

making more sugar to grow faster. JR knew he made the

rightchoicetogocarbon-smartandgrowbiological.

“Thecorn,foritsearlystage,wastallerthanitshouldbe.

Youcanseeinphotos,healthycornhasaglossy,waxylook.

Seehowwidetheleavesare. Andinnerveinsallconsistent

color. Notmuchstripingthatshowsdeficiencies. It’s justa

healthyplant—ashealthyascorngets.Wewerejusttickled.

“Hardtoexplain,butIcantellplantswerehealthierthis

year. Some say it makes no difference, but I can tell a

healthyplantbyleavesrightoff.Onethingwasthicknessof

leaves. Note in this early corn howwide leaves are. Leaf

lengthisalotlonger.

“Youcangoinafieldandtelliflifeisgoingon,orifit’s

hangingontolife. Timesofstress,likeifithasn’trained,is

hard on your body. You know it stresses plants. But this

year,ourplantsweren’t stressed theway theyshouldhave

been.Afewfields,somenon-irrigatedsand,neverhadabad

day.Theyheldon,setthereandwaiteduntilitrained.

“SinceIstartedthisnewfarming,whenIdrivebyafield,

it’s likemyplants are smiling. They’re happy and healthy.

Healthyplantsarethebestchanceofoptimumyield.

JRcloselyobservesnature.Inourfirstmeeting,Isawan

intense sentience in his dark eyes. As a farmer, JR notes

manydetailsofplantphysiologyandgrowth. JR’sattention

ischargedwithanempathythatadmiresplantsandbugsas

intelligent creatures,notmereobjects. Suchanopenmind

learnsdirectfromnature.

JR’s inquiring, observantmind discovered crop stubble

isn’tmeremulch,buthabitatandfoodfortinylifefromfungi

to earthworms. Residue digestion releases nutrients and

energy to Soil Food Web microbes. Teeming hordes of

invisiblecreaturesswarmoverdebris,stripoutnutrientsto

recycleasnewgrowth. Decayingdebrisclosesthecircleof

soil nutrient cycles. JR’s shaded soil needs no herbicide of

conventional no-till. However, three growing cycles are

needed to mature soil’s full digestive power to rapidly

recyclecropbiomass.

Cheap Labor “I was on hands and knees crawling through the crop,

lookingatsoilandplants,atdifferentbugs,differentinsects,

growingandgoingon inthere. Alldifferent fungi,allkinds

ofmushrooms.Lotsoflifeinthatsoil.

“You can see earthworms. Microbes, you can’t see. I

expected to seemycorrhizae signs in soil after a test I did

lastwinterwithseedlingsinpots. Ioverdosedwithspores,

andsawthickwhitefungalfuzzlikesnowonthesoil.

“We’re dealingwith living organisms. You got to treat

them right, or they won’t treat you right. It’s very tricky,

especiallytocombinedifferentspeciestogether.Thewhole

livingcommunity,intertwinedtogether.”

Howmuchspcacedofungineedtogrow?Asmushroomaspossible.

JR has learned to think holistic. He knows there’s no

singleshotsolutions.Heseessoilisacompleteandcomplex,

interactive, living system. JR’s concept of soil stewardship

now embraces the whole community of living organisms

that inhabit healthy, fertile soil. To fight off pathogens is

secondary strategy after he encourages roots, enlists

microbesasallies,andacompletemenuofminerals.

Unaided,oureye seesa few fungi—mostlymushrooms

andthickmycelium. Mostmyceliumisasfineorfinerthan

spiderweb,andassticky.Eachmyceliaisatinytubewitha

mouth on one end—invisible plumbing to pump liquid

nutrientsaroundinsoil.

Butwecan’tseebacteria;they’retootiny—microscopic.

Transparent, too. Even if we can see something so small,


they’re almost invisible. Yet, microbes

digest rock into protoplasm and boost

nutrientsandwaterflowintoroots.

Fungi and their “helper” bacteria

formextensivenetworksthroughoutsoil

that are connected to roots. Their

microscopicplumbingamounts tomiles

inatablespoon,“intertwinedtogether…”

Ripe Ears by July 4 OnJuly4th, Igotaphotoofanearly

ripe ears. I’munfamiliarwith southern

Midwest corn growth, yet this seemed

early.Someonesaid,“Unprecedented.”

“End of June,” said JR, “corn tassel

startshere.Sweetcornisalittleearlier.

We start to get sweet corn July 4th.

Around13th,weusuallycansweetcorn.

“Thingwas, we had a late planting,

so Ididn’texpect suchearly tasselsand

ears.Iwouldsay,becauseweplantedlate,thecornwastwo

weeksearly.” July 16th, email brought a photo of

threeears. JR said, “Earswere43 long,

16around.Onewas18around.Typical

throughout the field. Majority had 16

around,many18.Inthepast,itmightbe

12, or 14, a few 16s. But this year, 16

was thenorm. Twoextrarowsoneach

earaddstooverallyield.”

Remarkable Roots CornearsbyJuly4thfedmyfaithJR’s

4-inchstripswouldwork.Butphotosof

roots on cornstalks blew a fuse in my

imagination.Thickbeardsofwhiteroots

eruptedfromthebaseofstalks. Inever

saw such dense, fine roots. Corn knew

nutrients were there and saturated the

zonewithrootstosuckupthegoodies.

Inthephoto,blackgrainsofsawdust

biochar are visible. Each absorbs eight

times its weight in water, adsorps

immense amounts ofmineral ions, held

loosely,readyforH+exchangewithroot

ormicrobe. Biochar’s special benefit is

toholdanions(Nitrogen,Phosphorus)as

wellascationstokeepthemnearroots.

JR was thrilled by the remarkable

roots—and mystified, “I was scouting

cornforinsectsthefirstdayIsawroots

six inches long. Hard to say how long

theygot,‘causetheytwistedandturned,

butsomegrewtothreefoot.

“This was widespread throughout

the field. In fact, that whole 50 acres

lookedthatway.Somethingspecialwas

going on in that 50 acres. Looked like

spaghetti across the field. In close-up

photos,Iseereallyfineroothairs.Maybe

thewhitefuzzismycelium.

Moisture, Weeds and Bugs “Wehadawetspring. Timelyrains

attasselhelped. Later,webridgedgaps

with irrigation. Foliar sprays to put on

nutrientshelp,butaren’tafullwatering.

“Weusedamoistureprobethisyear

to monitor water use. We didn’t over-

water,butonce itgot toacertainpoint,

wekept itat thatrange. Seems like the

cropwasveryefficientwithwater.

“Weedpressurethisyearwasdown.

Residue left in middles suppressed

weeds. Corn grew so fast, canopy

shadedmiddlesquick. Weeds set there

and didn’t grow. Fast-growing corn

really stretched out, leaves were so

wide,theyshadedgroundquick.Photos

atharvestshownotaweedgrowing.

“Notmuchbugpressure,either.One

zone—ahigh-sandridge—abitmore.”

Once in the year, I got a question

fromJRaboutaninsectpest.Igavehim

non-toxic remedies to discourage bugs

andstrengthenplants.Helaterreported

bugs ate the weeds, hardly touched his

crop.Consistentlywell-nourishedplants

don’t attract pests. If pests do infest,

vigorousplantsoutgrowthebugs.

Blending Biochar Estimatingbiocharapplicationrates

was difficult. Field conditions, complex

calculations, equipment malfunctions,

uncertainties in blending, changing

recipes, and other variables made a

preciserateforeachfieldelusive.

Minimum 2% biocarbon is needed

to sustain strongmicrobe communities.

CertifiedOrganic requires4-5%carbon.

I suggest half as super-stable biochar

and humus, another 2.5% as digestible

carbon, like crop stubble, compost,

manure, etc. But 2.5%biochar tilled in

sixinchesis8tons/acre.At$.50/pound,

$8000/acreistoocostlyforfarmers.

JR’sgeniustoconcentratebiocharin

narrowbands,andcutratestohundreds

of pounds/acre. This slashes annual

costs,andspreadsexpensesoverseveral

years. TerraCharsawdust finesand40-

micron powder provide far greater

functional surface area per volume of

char. Mixing in minerals andmicrobes

charges char with nutrient ions, and

injectsaSoilFoodWebfoundation.This

cuts quantity needed further, while

boosting effects. Together, benefits

assure farmers strong response and

continued high yields at financially

feasibleyearlyexpense.

Fig.1:Whitefuzzoffungalmycelium

Fig.2FullearsmaturingonJuly4th,whilebelow,aprofusionofroots


Biochar isaclassic inert ingredient. Chardoesn’treact

withatoms,butisasubstratetobringotheratomstogether

to react with greater ease, speed and efficiency. Like a

catalyst, char is unchanged by a reaction. Because char

doesn’t react, it remains in soil decades, or centuries,

continuingtoprovideservicestomicrobesandroots.

Yields: First Place Milo “That corn fieldproduced235bushels,” JRwasproud.

“The20-yearaverageforthat field is180bushel. Thecrop

waseasytogrow.Itwasnotrouble.Didn’thaveissueswith

it.Justwateredit,setbackandletitdoitsthing.

ButJR’sbiggestsurprisewashisgrainsorghumcrop.

“Onefieldofsorghummade186bushelinnon-irrigated

sand,”JRrevealed.“Normalis100bushel;mostfarmswere

120,evenirrigated.Believeitornot,myfieldhadirrigation

onpart,butnon-irrigatedyieldedsameasirrigated.“

Good enough yield to win First Place in Missouri for

bothirrigatedandnon-irrigatedmilo. JR’sunwateredmilo

brought a few extra bushels than irrigated. Together, the

milogothimawintervacationtoNewOrleans.

Continuingtotalknumbers,Iaskedaboutmoneysaved

cutting NPK fertilizer 50% versus costs for biochar and

biologicalfertilizersandamendments.

David Sr. spokeup, “Yeah,we got some figures. I’ll do

somefinetuningonfertilizers—exactamountswecutback.

I’d sayclose to$100anacrecheaper. Maynotbe$100an

acre,butwayupthere.”

So, 1000 aces of corn saved near $100,000 just on

fertilizers. Biologicalmaterials cost far less than this. Plus

no expense for herbicides and other sprays, and then the

bonus of a bumper crop. With those economics, JR can go

out inhis fieldsandsmilewithhisplants. And this isonly

his first year to growwith a full biological program. Each

year,asJRbuildshissoilcarbon,traceelementsandbiology,

hecancutfertilizermore,increaseyields,upgradequality.

SoybeansJR’sheadshook tobegin talkofhis#2crop, “Basically,

same story all over again. After long delay due to heavy

rains,weplantedbeansafterthe4th.Ifwedon’tgetbeansin

by July4th, I risk lotsofproblems, like frost. Theyhad the

worstconditionspossiblewhentheycameup.”

DavidSr.commented,“Wehad25inchesofraininJuly,

andafterthe28th,nevergotanotherrainfortwomonths.”

JR continued, “With heavy rains, several times water

roseoverbeantopsacoupledays. Yet, theyovercameand

bounced back. I was shocked how they kept growing!

Yellowingwentawayfast. Ithinkbacteriagotrightbackin

fullswing.Fromthat,theyjustkepton.

“Stalk is important in soybeans—usually a littlepencil-

likestalk.Thisyear,stalkswereliketreetrunks.Theplant

pumpednutrientsintoit.Wenoticedmorelateralbranches.

Typically,wehaveasinglestem,andnodesstretchedfarther

apart. This year, nodes were more stacked, with three or

fourlateralbranchesoffthemainstalk.Theextrabranches

waslikeoneplantturnedintothree.”

AsIoftendo,Ipointedupthatbiochar,fungiandmany

biologicalsaffectmostlyrootsunderground,wherewecan’t

see them. WesawthisatKansasStateForestryDept.Tree

Nursery inManhattanwhere thousands of pottedpine and

cedar seedlings grew in a greenhouse. Someone gave the

staff a sandwichbaggieofmycorrhizae fungi spores,which

theyappliedtosomeoftheseedlings. Althoughtopgrowth

showednoobviousdifferences,whenwepulledhalfadozen

outoftheircones,rootgrowthwas50%greaterontreated

seedlings.Mostwereoutgrowingtheircontainers.

JR agreed, “Every soybean plant I pulled up, Rhizobia

werealwaysvibrant,pink,bigger insize,andmoreof them

thantypical,especiallyonpoorerground.Itsurprisedus. “Onaverage,inthisground,after-wheatsoybeansget35

bushels. Weendedin50to55. Quiteadifference. Certain

areas,theylaughatsuchsoybeanyields. Buthere,that’sas

goodaswefind.I’mrealpleasedwiththat.

“Also,wecutoursoybeanpopulationwaybacktothe80

to100,000range.Manyfarmsplantupto180,000peracre.

NRCS Cover Crops


“TwoyearsagowasfirstIcameoncovercrops.Thisis

ourfirstyearformulti-speciescovercrop. We’llseehowit

goes,butweunderstandit’sagoodthing. Oursoil isreally

low inorganicmatter—one thingwewant to increase, and

covercropsisagoodway.

“Thewayourfarmworksinthepast, it’shardforusto

do multi-species, because we late-plant soybeans in fields

thatwillbecornthenextyear.Thisyear,wecutbeansinto

November, then aerially applied cover crops when leaves

started to yellow, so leaves fell over seed to germinate it.

Lookslikeasuccessfulpopulationcomingup.

“Inthepast,weputacoverinafterwinterwheattohelp

withwind erosion,we have such sandy ground. Wework

groundinspring,andneedsomefoliageforwind. Butnow

wedostrip-tillandkeepalltheresidue.

“Covercropstieeverythingtogether—thewholesoillife

ecosystem.It’snoonething,butbridgesgaps.Keepsliving

systems going in soil through drought and winter. Helps

with weed suppression. I get deep penetration of roots.

Keeps soil nicely loose. In spring, plants have cover crop

rootsaspathwaystofollow.

“It helps with wind erosion, a major problem here. If

you don’t have a cover, your dirt winds up on your

neighbor’sfarm,andhisdirt’scomingonyours.”

Earthworm Calling “What started this for me was earthworms. All this

beganbecauseaguychallengedmetofindanearthworm.It

tickledmeyesterdaytowalkoutinafield,stopinarandom

spot, dig the soil with two fingers, and there was an

earthworm,thenfivemore.Backin2012,Icouldn’tfindan

earthworm.Yesterday,atarandomspot,wefoundthem.

“Thatshowsmewe’regoingintherightdirection.It’sa

goodgaugethingsaregoingwellifIseethoseguys.”

March 31, we returned to the cover crop field. JR

broughta“wormcaller”—apointed,brokenhardwoodstick

hehammeredintosandysoiluntil firm. Herubbedthetop

of this embedded stake with a hardwood board with a

bumpy,serratededge.Thisstrokingvibratedthestake,and

sentlowfrequencypressurewavesthroughsoilallaround.

JR first “worn caller”was in his grandmother’s garden.

Heusedametal stakeandwood rasp,whichemit ahigher

frequency.Beforelong,largewormscameupoutofsoil.

Now,inacarbon-poorcropfieldwithanewgreencover

thathadnowormstwoyearsbefore, JRhadtroublecalling

up anyworms. Buthepersisted at stroking the stake, and

carefullyfingeredthroughsurfacelitterandsoil.Eventually,

heproudlyshowedusthree3-inchlongworms.

JRwasdisappointednottofindmore.Iexplainedthese

skinny worms are his first crop—still only teenagers. By

mid-summer,hisyoungwormswillbeadultsandhatchout

hundredsof cocoons. Byharvest,with continued food and

habitat,asecondgenerationwillboosthiswormpopulation.

2016 JRcouldn’tbemorehappyandblesttocontemplatehis

farm’sfuture.“Weplannextseasontousewhatwelearned

last year, fix a few gaps, apply things in a timely fashion,

really tweak the system. This year, we’ll flex ourmuscles

withwhatwelearnedlastseason.I’mexcited.”

“For example, I saw bubbles in the liquid tubing. We

hadtroublewithvacuumhosestostartofeachrow.There’s

apercentofmechanicalerrors,spotswithbubbles,stonesin

equipment, and all. We have lot of refining and advanced

learningaheadbeforewecangoallout.”

DavidSr.volunteeredtogatherfinancialinformationon

savings,“I’lldosomefinetuningonthefertilizers.Icanget

you real close, ‘cause I don’t want to tell somebody

somethingwedidn’tdo,youknowwhatImean?”

Ihadtoask,“So,youlikewhatyou’reseeingsofar?”

“Yeah,” the senior Bollinger admitted, “as soon as we

make it easy todo, I’ll beall about it. I’mall about cutting

fertilizerbackandstrip-till,becauseoferosionandallthat.”

Down the Wormhole...soybeans and milo by principles and practices of carbon-smart, biological agriculture. After Easter, I was fortunate to enjoy another afternoon with JR learning

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