Nicole Wagner develops sustainable soil and plant growth using less water and fertilizer.
Adjacent to Bobcat Farm at the Freeman Center, a pillowy mound of mulch bakes under a bright white tarp. Dr. Nicole Wagner, associate professor of soil and crop sciences, peels back the tarp to reveal fresh Humisoil compost laced with the tentacles of fungi mycelia.
Nearby, a black metal bioreactor that resembles a barbecue smoker cooks wood chips and pecan shells. Wagner scoops a handful of the blackened chips to examine the product known as biochar—burned woody debris that’s not quite charcoal and not quite ash.
Though in their early stages, the two projects are key components of the Freeman Center’s efforts to demonstrate regenerative agricultural practices that improve soil health and restore ecological balance. TXST researchers are among the first in the nation to experiment with innovative soil amendments that combine biochar, which traps moisture and carbon; and Humisoil compost, which contains water-creating bacteria and rebuilds organic material. The goal is to give new life to degraded lands.
Farmers have become over-reliant on fertilizers—and ranchers on feed supplements—to make up for the dearth of nutrients in soils and forage that have been degraded by the overuse of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, monocropping, overgrazing, drought, and runoff. At the Freeman Center, for example, overgrazing in past decades made pastures susceptible to flash flooding, which washes away topsoil and stunts the growth of the nutrient-rich grasses that cattle need.
With funding from TXST’s Translational Health Research Center, Wagner and her colleagues have been conducting various research projects at Bobcat Farm on the efficacy of different blends of biochar and Humisoil compost. In a study that has not yet been published, they found that adding a soil amendment containing a mix of Humisoil, biochar, and basalt increased fruits per plant by 42 percent and total yield by 107 percent. And this summer, Wagner traveled to the Middle East with officials of VRM Biologik—the Australian company that created the Humisoil biostimulant—to see how farmers in some of the world’s harshest environments have used the compost to regenerate their lands.
Humisoil is unique, Wagner explains, because it contains both healthy microbes and moisture-producing bacteria. Biochar, meanwhile, is made by burning woody debris without oxygen in a process called pyrolysis. This creates a tough but porous carbon with holes that act like a sponge for water and microorganisms when put into the soil.
“Part of the beauty of this is that unlike compost, which you might apply 10 cubic yards an acre, with this you only need about one to two cubic yards an acre,” says Wagner, who’s also the director of Bobcat Farm.
As Wagner works with her colleagues to dial in the right blend for a successful Humisoil-biochar soil amendment, she also plans to sell Humisoil compost made at Freeman Center to help fund future research activities.
In addition, Wagner notes that cattle have been known to snack on biochar. She and her animal science colleagues are now experimenting with feeding small amounts of the soil amendment to the Freeman cattle herd.
As the cattle digest and then distribute the soil amendments across the ranch, they’ll be helping regenerate the same pastures where they spend their days grazing—yet another example of the Freeman Center’s holistic approach to sustainable land management.
Bobcat Farm not only grows sweet strawberries and crunchy kale—it’s also an important field laboratory for TXST faculty and students to research and apply regenerative agricultural practices.
Dr. Nicole Wagner, associate professor of soil and crop sciences, started the 1.4-acre farm in 2021 with funds donated by Andrew McGown and the Elizabeth and Floyd McGown Family Fund.
“This is very much a rangeland area, a hard piece of land for a fruit and vegetable farm,” Wagner says. “But it’s been a good exercise in building up the soil. We really wanted to build a farm to research and demonstrate soil-restoration practices, and also to give students a site to apply the fruit- and vegetable-production practices they learn in the classroom.”
The farm grows a variety of leafy greens, vegetables, and cut flowers, as well as watermelons, berries, figs, and pomegranates. The farm also houses research plots where Wagner and her colleagues study soil amendments, including Humisoil, biochar, EnSoil algae, and different microorganism blends.
Hundreds of students have worked at the farm since its inception, either during class projects or as volunteers with the Bobcat Farm student organization. Students from an agriculture structures class built the farm’s hoop house and a pergola.
Bobcat Farm is also a beneficiary of a $5 million grant the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded to TXST in 2023 to encourage non-traditional agricultural audiences to consider careers in the agricultural, natural resources, and human sciences. Grant funding has helped pay for interns, equipment, and student research projects on soils and crops, Wagner says.
Bobcat Farm sells its produce to the Central Texas Farmers Co-op and Chartwells (the campus caterer) with revenue funneled back into the farm’s operation. The farm also donates produce to Bobcat Bounty, an on-campus foodbank.
This summer, Bobcat Farm added a wash-pack facility made up of two shipping containers, one of which has a walk-in refrigerator. The facility’s roof is being outfitted with gutters for a rainwater collection system, which, Wagner says, has been funded through Texas State Environmental Services fees.
“This is going to be a game-changer—to actually have a commercial-style washing and processing area,” Wagner says. “We will be able to sell more in-demand produce such as baby greens and lettuce mixes, which we have to wash. Likewise, washing carrots and beets is going to be easier.”
