A Manjimup farmer is turning to the winter-active exotic dung beetle, Bubas bison, to help implement a carbon-positive approach. Pioneering the use of biochar as a means of sequestering carbon, Doug Pow of Marron Brook Farm sidestepped intensive machinery to fertilise inaccessible Alps slopes by developing a strategy using the dung beetle to bury the biochar-infused manure deep within the soil profile.

This innovative carbon sequestration practice, resulting in healthy cattle, improved soil nutrient levels and pasture growth, has led to a short-term State NRM-funded trial at Bannister Downs Dairy. And the trial confirmed biochar could be fed to cows in stalls with additional benefits including a marked reduction in odour in the dairy.