A group of poultry farmers and researchers is using funding from Defra's ADOPT (Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies) programme to investigate engineered biochar as a practical solution to the long-standing challenge of reducing ammonia emissions while improving litter quality and bird welfare.

The farmer-led project is bringing together four commercial broiler farms in Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire to test engineered biochar applied directly to poultry bedding. 

By monitoring ammonia levels, litter condition and bird welfare throughout the production cycle, the team hopes to generate robust evidence to help poultry producers make informed decisions about adopting the technology.

The project is supported through ADOPT, which funds farmer-led, on-farm trials to test innovative ideas under real commercial conditions.

NFU member and poultry farmer Rob Collins said the programme had made innovation significantly more accessible.

"We've been involved in Innovate UK projects before but ADOPT is a meaningful step forward. It's easier for farmers to engage with and the support throughout the application process has been excellent.

"Having a facilitator to coordinate the project, manage the paperwork and work directly with Innovate UK has made a huge difference. It has allowed us to focus on running the trial.

"The increase in the funding cap was also critical. Our original budget simply wasn't large enough to deliver the project across four commercial farms, so being able to expand the grant meant we could carry out the trial at the scale needed to generate meaningful results."

The trial is using engineered biochar, produced from heating spruce wood to high temperatures with limited oxygen, before being incorporated into poultry bedding. Sensors installed in each shed will monitor ammonia levels continuously while participating farmers assess litter quality, handling characteristics and any observable effects on bird welfare.

The project combines commercial farming experience with scientific expertise.

Biochar specialist Kevin Fryer has worked with the material for more than 30 years and believes ADOPT provides an important opportunity to build confidence in the technology.

"There's growing interest in biochar across agriculture, but farmers need independent, on-farm evidence before they invest in new approaches. ADOPT gives us the opportunity to test high-quality engineered biochar under real commercial conditions and demonstrate what it can achieve."

Research partner Dr David Redpath, who specialises in the sustainable use of livestock by-products, said the project illustrates why farmer-led trials are so valuable.

"Research doesn't end in the laboratory. To understand whether a technology works in practice, it must be tested on commercial farms under everyday operating conditions. ADOPT enables that to happen by bringing researchers and farmers together to generate evidence both scientifically robust and directly relevant to the industry."

Although results will not be available until later this year, previous small-scale work suggests engineered biochar could help reduce ammonia emissions, improve litter quality, create better conditions for birds and support more circular nutrient management.

By running the trial across four farms with standardised protocols, the team hopes to understand how consistently the approach performs across different commercial environments.

The project also demonstrates the wider ambition of the ADOPT programme: helping farmers explore practical innovations that improve productivity, sustainability and resilience while generating evidence to benefit the wider industry.