The fertile farm country of eastern Washington’s Palouse prairie region hosts millions of acres of grains, fruits, vegetables, forage, and forests that support its economy. And one Cheney-based company is increasing the economic value of these crops by turning their organic waste into a valuable soil amendment called biochar.

Mike Werner, CEO of Qualterra, a Washington-based agricultural technology solutions firm focused on sustainability, says his company’s mission is to deliver innovative solutions to farmers. One of Qualterra’s flagship technologies is a biomass processing technology that produces biochar, a charcoal-like material made from organic materials that are processed through Qualterra’s Biomass Processing Units (BPU) at high temperatures in a low combustion environment that locks in and sequesters carbon to form biochar. When added to soils, biochar can improve key factors like pH, aeration, drainage, nutrient availability, microbial makeup, and water absorption.

Werner says Qualterra is trying to strike a balance between the viability of food systems and the economics of what farmers need. “By adding in biochar, we’ve seen some very positive outcomes for our growers,” he said. “At the end of the day, it helps their crops grow better while improving their soil for the next generation. This is an important aspect of food security.”

The Qualterra brand is only a couple of years old, but the history of their technologies spans the last decade. They spawned out of two different companies that did biomass processing, plant propagation, and molecular diagnostic testing. The two companies had a distinct overlap with soil improvement goals, which fostered a circular economy around “better plants, better soils, better world.”

Thriving in drought

Qualterra’s 75-acre farm in Cheney, Washington, just outside Spokane, is the main campus for biomass processing and commercial biochar production. It is also home to a laboratory, greenhouse, and Agricultural Regeneration Center (ARC) on over 50 acres of farmland used to conduct research.

“We’ve successfully processed wheat straw, nut shells, hops, thistle, and rice husks to make high quality and consistent biochars through pyrolysis within our BPUs,” said Werner. “But we know one size doesn’t fit all, so we are constantly pushing our boundaries, asking questions, and researching: What’s the right biomass? How much to use? What are the right soils? Where’s the benefit?”

One real-world success came when Qualterra partnered with a local farm and applied biochar in the soil with new start apple trees. “Within a month, the grower called us back and said, ‘I think there’s a difference–you gotta come out and see it,’” Werner said. “After 3 months, we kept seeing bigger, denser, and greener trees. Trees planted in biochar-amended soils within five months had a canopy 20-25% greater than the rest of the orchard, even in the hottest part of the year.”

Qualterra’s biochar product has succeeded with plants during climate stress and drought. The biochar improves soil water absorption and holding capacity, allowing growers to reduce watering in controlled environments by about 25%.

“We can work very closely with growers based on our team’s scientific experiences to support the evidence-based application of biochar in different cropping systems,” Werner said. “Summers are getting hotter, and water restrictions are a reality. Biochar can help soils function more effectively during those stressful times.”

Qualterra’s ARC facility, located in Cheney, Washington, was intentionally chosen as a demonstration facility for agricultural sustainability and housing its technologies in one location. The biomass processing units produce biochar that customers can purchase. Qualterra is also continuing its research and can scientifically test the agricultural benefits of its biochar at its on-site R&D greenhouse.

Added energy benefit

Qualterra has just begun harnessing the green renewable energy from the units to offset its energy footprint. Its life cycle analysis of its biomass processing units showed that after running for just 1.36 months, the technology was carbon-negative. The units have been running on site for 10-15,000 hours and can process 450 tons of biomass a year without even running at full capacity. They run on 3-5 kWh but produce 80-90 kWh of renewable energy, producing a net surplus.

In Werner’s estimation, “the value proposition of responsible elimination of waste, biomass processing, biochar production, and renewable energy capture is compelling and important. That’s the last big piece for our organization and our team.”

What’s next

Qualterra conducts biochar studies with 27 research partners, testing various applications in 13 different cropping systems across three states. It is also exploring applications for decarbonizing industries and helping them reduce their carbon footprint.

There is also a need to expand federally funded research to close critical knowledge gaps on biochar. The Senate version of the 2025 USDA appropriations bill includes $2.5 million in new funding for biochar research. The research would inform farmers, ranchers, foresters and businesses on which type of biochar will have positive results in their area. It would help companies like Qualterra do even more to maximize the many benefits of biochar.

Werner says young people are interested in the environmental impacts of biochar. Local schools bring kids out to tour Qualterra’s facilities because they want to understand biochar and sustainability in agriculture systems. “We are trying to build a company,” he said, “but also build a knowledge base for future generations.”

How one Southern startup recycles farm waste to purify water, build green, and generate power.

As an entrepreneur running a business incubator in the Memphis area, Bryan Eagle knew nothing about the organic charcoal product known as biochar. He wasn’t alone, as the material made from plant waste occupies an obscure niche in agricultural communities and isn’t widely used in the U.S. However, the modernization of an ancient technique has opened up a world of possibilities, and biochar is poised to take off as the green solution to a slew of 21st-century problems.

Biochar is a stable carbon material made from plant-based biomass. Far from a new concept, biochar is as old as agriculture itself. Indigenous people have effectively added burned organic waste to fields for millennia, but the idea that biochar could be perfected for industrial uses and to mitigate climate change has been around for less than 20 years.

Bryan says he first ran across biochar through a nonprofit venture focused on leveraging technologies from the local university network in Memphis. “The professor who created this approached me, and I knew nothing about clean tech, ag waste, or biochar. But the more I read about it, the more excited I became about the potential,” he said. “We saw early on that this could be a powerful tool in addressing climate change, not just in our business but on a global basis, that’s very quick, very low-cost.”

Bryan’s company, Glanris, now produces a designer Biocarbon that functions as everything from a soil amendment to a filler in asphalt, concrete, drywall, and a filter for air and water. Unlike traditional biochar products made from waste wood, Glanris has a sustainable and locally grown raw material supply of rice husks.

“We started this journey in 2019 to look at what we can do with all the ag waste generated across the river in Arkansas,” Bryan said. He approached Riceland Foods, the largest rice producer in the state, to find a way to repurpose their waste material. “There are 60-acre landfills that are being filled up with rice hulls,” he said, “so we set up to try to find a greener alternative.”

Glanris superheats the husks using a process called pyrolysis, which removes combustible gasses in the absence of oxygen and seals carbon into blackened biochar granules. Instead of plant material burning or rotting and being released into the atmosphere as CO2, biochar stabilizes the carbon content so it doesn’t break down. The pyrolysis units pump out a patented Biocarbon product resembling coal-black shards of confetti, which is packaged in 300-pound “Supersacks” or smaller boxes and shipped all over the globe.

“The rice mills are paying $12-20 per ton to haul this stuff away,” Bryan said. If you can instead turn it into products that give you heat, electricity, and water filtration, we make more selling our biocarbon into the environmental remediation market than they do from the rice.”

Follow the green

As founder and CEO, Bryan started small while thinking big. One shrewd move was to make his new company a family affair. When his daughter Anastasia Eagle returned to the South, her business and PR skills were quickly put to use at Glanris.

“When we first started the company, we were a two-person operation. That’s startup life. We’ve worn many hats on our heads, we’ve been able to do it all,” she said. “Now that we’re able to expand and grow, I am getting more back into the marketing side.”

Anastasia is thankful to be part of something that will help the region and community she cares about so much.

Bryan’s billion-dollar question is, “What does it take to get the funding you need to get this industry to scale?”

Bryan says the keystone of biochar’s economics is securing a long-term revenue stream that includes research, development, and application funding in the Farm Bill.

The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) is asking Congress to invest in biochar research to provide more insight into its larger-scale applications through the next Farm Bill under the bipartisan Biochar Research Network Act. If passed, the bill will authorize the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a national-scale research program to test different biochar types in different soils and circumstances. With better research will come innovation and practical tools for farmers, ranchers, foresters, and businesses to lean into biochar as a climate solution.

“Hopefully, it will reach a critical mass where we can survive without subsidies, but it’s still needed,” he said. “Without support in the farm bill, the biochar industry would all but dry up. Biochar has so much potential to impact other areas, but we need to buy time to get into these markets.”

Making the move

After several years in the biochar business, he concluded that the only way to make money is to maximize carbon credits and take advantage of all possible revenue streams, which means using biochar in water systems, construction, and power generation in addition to ag uses.

That’s part of why Bryan and his employees decided to relocate the business to California. The state offers many green energy incentives, and there is a tremendous volume and diversity of forest and ag waste. Farmers can’t burn crop waste like nut shells or take them to landfills, so pyrolyzing is a great solution.

“There’s a huge demand for biochar in Sacramento Valley, and there are grants paying people to apply biochar as part of a remediation and soil improvement strategy,” he said. “Vineyards, orchards, row crops–farmers are trialing this stuff and finding out it has huge advantages.”

Glanris is making a last push to get funding for their $22M project in California, with $20M raised so far. The first phase in California is projected to produce 13,000 tons of biochar per year and generate 2.5 megawatts of electricity. “We’ve already got a 20-year power purchase agreement with a municipality that will sell [generated power] back to the grid,” Bryan said.

He believes green jobs are the jobs of the future, and the California project is expected to create around 20 jobs in its first phase that will pay at least double the prevailing wage for farm workers. As he grows this first instillation and expands to other cities in California, he hopes to create hundreds of green jobs.

Combining worms and biochar has big potential for soil health

In the dry, rugged hills of Eastern Montana, third-generation rancher Steve Charter has managed to carve out a living practicing his own brand of regenerative agriculture. It starts with caring for his soil at a microscopic level to help the rest of the food chain flourish. His current prize crop is an animal that no livestock grower would think to raise, but one that’s essential for a healthy ecosystem: worms.

“I’ve been doing it for about seven years, and we have several worm beds that we feed,” Charter said. “We’re focusing more on what’s going on under the soil than on the surface–that’s where all the really new exciting ideas are happening.”

Adding New Life to the Land

Charter isn’t using the worms themselves–more what they leave behind. Vermicast is, simply put, composted worm poop. Their “castings” create a rich black loam packed with beneficial organisms, natural acids and hormones. The worms’ digestive systems break down nutrients like nitrogen and calcium, making them easier for plants to absorb. Vermicast is almost always a net improvement to any soil.

The first thing Charter did with the vermicast was mix it in his water tanks so the cattle would ingest the microorganisms. “It has amazing health and production benefits. It’s almost magic in a way,” he said.

On his family’s ranch north of Billings, Charter is constantly experimenting with ways to add new life to the land by manufacturing biodiversity with a cocktail of unlikely ingredients. Beneficial microbes and fungi are generated through a process that uses vermicast and biochar to infuse tiny life and nutrients into the grassland pastures.

Biochar is a charcoal-like substance and the byproduct of superheated organic matter that can be turned into compost, animal fodder, and even building materials. When used correctly, biochar can pack a punch far above its weight in building soil structure and fertility. Made up of millions of microscopic cells, there is as much surface area in a teaspoon of biochar as in a football field.

“When we do our vermicast or biochar, it passes through the manure and gets charged with all this biological activity,” Charter said. “There are major studies with good data showing that biochar fed to animals has really strong health effects. It’s possible to restore the range by using our animals to spread the biology and get them to do the work for us.”

Plowing, overgrazing, chemicals and invasive species have degraded a range that’s been in constant production since the 1800s. Charter says he has implemented innovative grazing practices since taking over the ranch in the 80s, aiming to recreate the buffalo’s effect on the land.

Soil health isn’t just on the minds of producers like Charter. The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) is asking Congress to invest in biochar research to provide more insight into its larger-scale applications through the next Farm Bill under the bipartisan Biochar Research Network Act. If passed, the bill will authorize the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a national-scale research program to test different biochar types in different soils and circumstances. With better research will come innovation and practical tools for farmers, ranchers, foresters, and businesses to lean into biochar as a climate solution.

‘We don’t have to know it all’

Modest and self-deprecating, Charter admits he’s still learning about regenerative agriculture. He says the industry has a long way to go before these practices are used on a large scale, but things are constantly changing. Lingering questions about research and scalability can be answered with more research and government funding from the Farm Bill currently winding its way through Congress.

“There’s a lot of pieces to the puzzle,” Charter said. “Our soil knowledge has really advanced in the last 15 years. To get benefits, we don’t have to know it all. We can just start experimenting. It’s going to take some key research, but I don’t think we need to let that stop us.”