[Terrapreta] biochar and sugarcane growth (reply to AD Karve)

[Jeff Davis]

Tom wrote:
> Possible? Yes. Desirable? Yes. Worth it to the mill owner? That depends on
> the value of the char. For some reason the mill owners always want to see a 
>profit.

For two years full time and eight (about) years part time I ran a saw mill 
business. I learned that, to my surprise, the lumber just covered expenses 
plus a SMALL amount extra. True, I had poor marketing skills but other small 
mill operators expressed the same results.

I found that my profit was in the waste! What I really liked about this waste 
to profit was that it was already in my yard! I did not have to buy, truck, 
or look for it. Right there it was.

I remember talking with a life long saw miller in Ohio, he is also a machine 
builder and dealer, and his eyes would just light up when he talked about the 
mill waste and the things a miller can do with it. When I would start to talk 
about the lumber he seemed to lose interest. Odd, I thought... But not now...

Saw millers can buy all kinds of machines to deal with mill waste and turn it 
into a profit. So if that works for saw mills, here in the states, maybe it 
will work for sugar cane mills in other countries. Of course I'm talking 
waste to Terra Preta, fuel gas and last BUT not least PROFIT!!



There's gold it their waste,


Jeff