Sponsors (14)
The bill directs federal funds to expand biochar research and provide region-specific guidance to improve soil health and sequester carbon, trading potential environmental and economic benefits for taxpayer cost, uncertain adoption, and risks of ecological or market-side harms.
Farmers, foresters, and other land managers will receive region-specific, science-based guidance plus coordinated technical/financial support (via NRCS) to adopt biochar practices that can improve soil health and crop resilience.
Land managers and rural communities could gain practices that increase soil carbon sequestration, supporting climate mitigation efforts and potentially enabling participation in carbon programs.
The bill funds $50 million per year (FY2026–2030) to expand biochar research capacity, creating research jobs, supporting universities and state research programs, and producing technoeconomic/process data to improve production efficiency and support bioenergy/bior refinery innovation.
Taxpayers will fund $50 million per year for five years, increasing federal spending with uncertain long-term cost-effectiveness and no guarantee of widespread adoption.
If biochar application or production introduces unintended contaminants or ecological harms, farmers and local ecosystems could suffer crop losses or environmental damage before risks are fully understood.
Federal support could increase demand for biomass/feedstocks, raising prices or diverting residues from other uses and imposing higher costs on farmers and small businesses that supply or rely on those materials.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced July 25, 2025 by Mariannette Miller-Meeks · Last progress July 25, 2025
Creates a USDA-led National Biochar Research Network to test biochar across diverse sites, soils, feedstocks, production methods, and management systems and to develop region-specific guidance for farmers, foresters, ranchers, urban managers, and other land managers. The program is run by the Agricultural Research Service in partnership with the Forest Service, NIFA, and the Secretaries of Energy, Commerce, and the Interior, and it may coordinate with NRCS to inform conservation practice standards and program support. Authorizes $50 million per year for fiscal years 2026–2030 to carry out the research network, supporting up to 20 research and pilot sites to evaluate soil carbon sequestration potential, agronomic and environmental impacts, production processes, testing methods, and technoeconomic aspects of biochar. Participation is open to eligible federal and state research stations and specified agency facilities; funding authorization requires subsequent appropriation to be spent.