Bill > HR8596

This bill aims to amend the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a national biochar research network. The key provisions of the bill are: 1. Establishment of a national biochar research network of up to 20 research sites to assess the soil carbon sequestration potential of biochar, understand how to use biochar productively for climate mitigation, crop production, resilience to extreme weather events, ecosystem health, and natural resource conservation, and deliver science-based, region-specific, cost-effective, and practical information to various land and natural resource managers on sustainable biochar production and application. 2. The research network will encompass agriculture, horticulture, rangeland, forestry, and other biochar uses, and will conduct cross-site and mechanistic experiments to fill critical knowledge gaps, provide insights on thermochemical conversion processes, develop and validate models, and generate data to guide the design of new, more-efficient biochar and bioenergy production reactors and biorefineries. 3. The research network will also conduct site-specific farm and forestry systems assessments and pilot-scale biochar production and application systems to refine the most promising soil-based uses, sources, and methods of producing and applying biochar, develop new knowledge to support decisions on sustainable production and use of biochar, and share research results to inform various stakeholders on the most advantageous ways to use biochar. 4. The bill authorizes $50 million in appropriations for each fiscal year from 2023 to 2028 to carry out these activities.