NORCROSS, Ga., March 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vega Biofuels, Inc. (OTCPink:VGPR) announced today that it has signed a five year Agreement to provide the Company’s Biochar to legal cannabis growers in Alaska. The state of Alaska is the most recent state to legalize both medical and recreational cannabis use.
The Agreement with AK Provisions, Inc. located in Anchorage is Vega’s largest single order for Biochar. Biochar is a highly absorbent specially designed charcoal-type product primarily used as a soil enhancement for the agricultural industry to significantly increase crop yields. Biochar offers a powerfully simple solution to some of today’s most urgent environmental concerns. The production of Biochar for carbon sequestration in the soil is a carbon-negative process. Biochar is made from timber waste using torrefaction technology and the Company’s patent pending manufacturing machine. When put back into the soil, biochar can stabilize the carbon in the soil for hundreds of years. The introduction of biochar into soil is not like applying fertilizer; it is the beginning of a process. Most of the benefit is achieved through microbes and fungi. They colonize its massive surface area and integrate into the char and the surrounding soil, dramatically increasing the soil’s ability to nurture plant growth and provide increased crop yield.
AK Provisions, Inc. plans to use Vega’s Biochar in its own grow facilities as well as market the product to other growers throughout the state of Alaska through a reseller agreement with Vega Biofuels. The initial order is for 75 super sacks of Biochar. Each super sack holds approximately 400 pounds. Indoor grow facilities harvest their plants four times per year and start with new soil each time.
“By the pound, Biochar is much more profitable to the Company than our Bio-coal energy product and will have a noticeable impact on the Company’s bottom line. The products are similar but each has its own unique qualities,” stated Michael K. Molen, Chairman/CEO of Vega Biofuels, Inc. “We sell Bio-coal by the ton and Biochar is sold by the pound. Growers in other states are reporting significant increases in their crop yields when using Biochar as their soil enhancement. We plan to use the AK Provisions model as we increase our marketing efforts in other states that have recently approved growing legal cannabis. Our goal is to have the first shipment to Anchorage in time for AK Provisions’ first planting this spring.”
For plants that require high potash and elevated pH, Biochar can be used as a soil amendment to significantly improve yield. Biochar can improve water quality, reduce soil emissions of greenhouse gases, reduce nutrient leaching, reduce soil acidity, and reduce irrigation and fertilizer requirements. Biochar was also found under certain circumstances to induce plant systemic responses to foliar fungal diseases and to improve plant responses to diseases caused by soil-borne pathogens. The various impacts of Biochar can be dependent on the properties of the Biochar, as well as the amount applied. Biochar impact may depend on regional conditions including soil type, soil condition (depleted or healthy), temperature, and humidity. Modest additions of Biochar to soil reduces nitrous oxide N2O emissions by up to 80% and eliminates methane emissions, which are both more potent greenhouse gases than CO2.
About Vega Biofuels, Inc. (OTCPink: VGPR):
Vega Biofuels, Inc. is a cutting-edge energy company that manufactures and markets a renewable energy product called Bio-Coal and a soil enhancement called Biochar, both made from timber waste using unique technology called torrefaction. Torrefaction is the treatment of biomass at high temperatures under low oxygen conditions. For more information, please visit our website at vegabiofuels.com.
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