Vegetable production fields that are being converted to organic management often are of poor soil quality and lack environmental resiliency, which results in vegetable growers often facing low…

The University of Missouri System received a $960,000 Project Grant from the Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Integrated Programs (CFDA 10.303) funding opportunity, awarded September 15, 2025, with completion targeted for September 14, 2029. The project addresses soil health challenges faced by vegetable growers transitioning to organic management by examining the effectiveness of biochar-based soil amendments on soil health, vegetable yield, and economic profitability. The initiative combines on-farm learning trials conducted with producers in Columbia, Missouri, with controlled research experiments at university research centers to evaluate various biochar treatment application scenarios, often paired synergistically with compost and biological amendments to enhance agronomic and environmental outcomes during organic transition periods.

The project will deliver research findings and educational outreach through multiple dissemination channels including virtual field days, video stories, podcasts, and presentations at grower-focused and professional conferences. Two sub-awards support project execution: the Forest Service (awarded March 4, 2026) will produce biochar through scalable manufacturing systems, optimize production processes, and characterize biochar properties using advanced analytical techniques including elemental analysis, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy; Lincoln University (awarded November 4, 2025) will focus on harnessing biochar-biologicals-compost interactions to maximize productivity and profitability of small- and medium-sized transitioning vegetable production systems. Collectively, these efforts aim to provide vegetable growers with innovative, evidence-based practices to rebuild depleted soils and ensure sustainable profitability during conversion to organic management.

Vegetable production fields that are being converted to organic management often are of poor soil quality and lack environmental resiliency, which results in vegetable growers often facing low yields due to inadequate soil fertility, poor soil health and increased weed pressure as they transition to organic practices. While some vegetable growers expressed interest in using annual cover crops, low soil fertility can still limit cover crop biomass production needed to effectively suppress weeds and build up organic matter (SOM), underscoring the need for more innovative practices to rebuild depleted soils and ensure soil health and profitability into the future. This project is designed to address critical stakeholder needs by examining the effectiveness of biochar-based treatments on soil health, vegetable yield, and economic profitability during organic transition. Synergistic soil health benefits could arise when soil amendments such as biochar are paired with compost and/or biologicals resulting in greater agronomic and environmental benefits during transition to organic management. We will work with farmers to conduct on-farm learning trials, which complement research conducted at university research centers where a full suite of biochar-based amendment application frequency scenarios will be experimented. Project results will be disseminated to a broad audience through various means including virtual field-days, video stories, podcasts, presentations at grower-focused and professional conferences.