Farmers use ‘magic dust’ to capture millions of tonnes of carbon

Ryan found out about the process after spotting an advert in a farming magazine asking for volunteers to allow the rock to be spread on their land.

It triggered a subliminal memory of basalt being demonstrated on the BBC’s Beechgrove Garden.

He recalls seeing presenter Jim McColl applying it to the soil on the TV show about 20 years ago.

Ryan said: “It was on a croft and the crofter smashed up all the rock. The crop of fruit and vegetables that he was getting from this croft was remarkable.”

As well as storing carbon, basalt has been shown in trials to improve both crop yields and the quality of grazing for farmers.

Instead of capturing carbon over millennia, it takes a naturally occurring weathering process and accelerates it.

The rock is crushed up to maximise its exposure to the elements when it’s spread across agricultural land.