Building the Future from the Ground Up
Robin Cook
Organization
PermaMatrix Inc.
Presentation file
Attachment Size
1.6.1 Cook, Robin.pdf 5.26 MB
Abstract

A growing problem agriculture faces today has its origins in an over-reliance on inexpensive, synthetic fertilizers. Studies have shown that overuse of synthetic fertilizers increasingly degrades soil biology and therefore soil productivity. As a consequence, nitrate runoff creates dead zones in our waterways and soil nutritional deficiency that requires more fertilizer to sustain equal yields. It is our belief that agricultural soils are a key benefit in the fight to slow climate change.  PermaMatrix has demonstrated that the combination of biochar, mineral, organics and microorganisms is beneficial to soil microbiology which in turn is beneficial to vegetation establishment and crop yield. There are few products commercially available containing biochar that can compete economically with cheap synthetic fertilizers today. Because of this, PermaMatrix is being developed as a carbon offset that addresses these issues. This presentation discusses the benefits of a new way of looking at agriculture soils as a carbon sink that will help in the reduction of GHG’s while improving both yields and long term sustainability for farmers. 

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