Submitted Comment Name Ethan Young Affiliation Livestock; ecosystem restoration; biochar production Subject Rural economic development and fire mitigation opportunities from stricter emissions standards Message Hello, I'm writing from the NE corner of California in support of stricter emissions standards for dairies. These standards will spur innovation as an opportunity to support the development of biochar markets that in turn can help fund ecosystem restoration and fire/fuels mitigation work in fire-prone areas. Many of the benefits of integrating biochar into dairy operations at multiple points have been summarized here: https://biochar.net.nz/about-biochar/economic-applications/dairy-cows-a… These benefits include higher quality and more efficient production, improvements to animal welfare and performance, decreased pollution and increased dairy byproduct value. By integrating biochar into their operations, dairy producers can benefit from compliance with new standards in multiple ways. At the same time, ecosystem restoration and fuels mitigation efforts that provide jobs and income in impoverished areas remain critically underfunded. By converting slash piles to biochar and integrating biochar into livestock production, we can create a cyclical economy that reduces emissions and other pollution, captures and improves values of byproducts, provides important restoration/mitigation jobs for rural communities, and durably sequesters carbon in the soil for hundreds to thousands of years while improving soil function and fertility. We are a small operation pioneering broadacre ecosystem and watershed restoration through the integration of biochar production into carefully-targeted prescribed grazing. Please feel free to reach out for further discussion of any of the above. Thank you Ethan Young File Upload (i.e., Attachments): N/A N/A
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