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©2008 Rodale institute
By Jeff Moyer
Farm Director
RODALE INSTITUTE
“Healthy Soil = Healthy Food = Healthy People”“Healthy Planet”
A Flawed Food Production System&
An Organic Solution - Compost
By Jeff MoyerFarm Director
©2008 Rodale institute
It’s Not Only About Yields
It’s About the SOIL!
• “To be a successful farmer one must first know the nature of the soil.” –
Xenophon, Oeconomicus, 400 B.C.
©2008 Rodale institute
Our Broken Food System
©2008 Rodale institute
We’re Polluting Our Water
©2008 Rodale institute
Dead Zones Continue To Expand
2008 Soil From Iowa in the Gulf of Mexico
Over 2 million acres lost 20 tons or more of top soil
©2008 Rodale institute
Childhood Obesity is Epidemic
©2008 Rodale institute
Effects of a Broken Food System
©2008 Rodale institute
Wasted Food
©2008 Rodale institute
Inspirational Wisdom
“ A nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.”
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
©2008 Rodale institute
Farming on Rodale Land 8000 Years Ago
Farming TodayFarming in the Future
SOIL
©2008 Rodale institute
Rodale Institute Paradise Lost
1970
©2008 Rodale institute
Answer the Question – Why make Compost?Answer the Question – Why make Compost?
Discuss – How to Make CompostDiscuss – How to Make Compost
Talk About – Compost Utilization Talk About – Compost Utilization
©2008 Rodale institute
Let’s Think About the Problems
©2008 Rodale institute
Replace Chemistry & Bio-Technology
©2008 Rodale institute
With Biology
©2008 Rodale institute
Same Resources…… Different Philosophy
©2008 Rodale institute
Soil Organic Matters
1%1% 5%5%5 % 1%
©2008 Rodale institute
Fungi: Another Tool in Bacteria's Belt? Fungi and Bacteria Help One Another Stay Mobile, Say
Researchers• — Bacteria and fungi are remarkably mobile. Now
researchers at Tel Aviv University have discovered that the two organisms enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship to aid them in that movement -- and their survival.
December 8th, 2011
©2008 Rodale institute
Organic Corn - 1995 Drought
Organic Conventional
Better infiltration, retention, and delivery to plants helps avoid drought
damage
©2008 Rodale institute
Life In The Soil
©2008 Rodale institute
Soil MicroorganismsGroup Average Number per
Gram Of SoilLive Weight per Acre Plow Depth (pounds)
Bacteria
Actinomycetes
1 billion
10 million
500
750
Fungi 1 million 1,000
Algae 100 thousand 150
TOTAL 2,400
Francis E. Clark, A Perspective of the Soil Microflora, Soil Microbiology Conf.,Purdue University (June 1954)
©2008 Rodale institute
Organic Compost Delivered To USDA in DC
©2008 Rodale institute
Composting in action…
maturing
turning
application
piling
©2008 Rodale institute
Resources
©2008 Rodale institute
Composted livestock waste is a value added product that:
Compost can play an important role in all these efforts
•Reduces agricultural nutrient losses,
•Improves soil water retention,
•Reduces soil erosion,
•Improves plant growth (even during drought),
•Can be used as a bio-filter,
•Captures atmospheric carbon and nitrogen in the soil, and
•Meets environmental standards for waterway reclamation.
©2008 Rodale institute
Compost is “the controlled decomposition of organic residues into a humus-like end product.”
25:1 / 40:1 mix of “brown” (C-based) materials and “green” (N-based) materials
50-65% moisture Temperatures 131 - 170°F or more during active
decomposition (15 Days) Made in windrows, piles or containers (large or small)
Usually requires repeated mixing (5 times in 15 days)
Takes 8 weeks to 2 years (depending on the above factors)
Compost basics
©2008 Rodale institute
Garden Scale Compost Production
©2008 Rodale institute
Garden Scale
©2008 Rodale institute
Compost Made Using Existing Farm Equipment
Farm Scale
©2008 Rodale institute
Bucket by Bucket Turning
©2008 Rodale institute
Commercial Scale
Farm Scale Turning Using Commercial Scale Equipment
Windrows Are 15ft. X 6 ft.
©2008 Rodale institute
Locating Your Compost Site
Be sure to Get All State and Local Approvals
©2008 Rodale institute
Food Waste Mixed With Yard Waste
©2008 Rodale institute
The amount of food wasted in the US is staggering. The US generates more than 34 million tons of food waste each year. Paper is the only material category where we generate more waste, but we also recycle more. Food waste is more than 14 percent of the total municipal solid waste stream. Less than three percent of the 34 million tons of food waste generated in 2009 was recovered and recycled. The rest —33 million tons— was thrown away. Food waste now represents the single largest component of MSW reaching landfills and incinerators.
EPA 2009 Statistics
©2008 Rodale institute
UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization released a very interesting report on global food waste. It contains mind-boggling new statistics, calls international attention to the issue and serves as a prelude to the SaveFood! conference in Germany.
Here’s the key line:
Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted…
World Food Waste Study
By Jonathan|Bloom Published: May 12, 2011
©2008 Rodale institute
Contaminants In Food Waste
©2008 Rodale institute
Sittler Pull Type Turner
©2008 Rodale institute
Coffee Grounds
©2008 Rodale institute
Potato Cake – Processing Food Waste
©2008 Rodale institute
Mixing Materials
©2008 Rodale institute
Some Things Don’t Mix Well
©2008 Rodale institute
©2008 Rodale institute
Well Shaped Windrow
©2008 Rodale institute
Fleece Cover
©2008 Rodale institute
Can You Compost in the Winter?
©2008 Rodale institute
23 Degrees Fahrenheit Ambient Temperature
©2008 Rodale institute
Compost Temperatures
135 Degrees Fahrenheit12” Thermometer
154 Degrees Fahrenheit36” Thermometer
©2008 Rodale institute
Composting on leachate-retrieving pads
©2008 Rodale institute
In 2006 we grew field corn to test the performance of
the composts
plowing
application
Waiting for the corn to grow
Phase 2: The Field Trial
©2008 Rodale institute
Soil N levels after four weeks of corn growth
Soil N levels after four weeks of corn growth
©2008 Rodale institute
We used lysimeters to collect the soil water (leachate)
©2008 Rodale institute
Compost stabilizes nitrogen in the soil, reducing nitrate leaching (Compost Utilization Trial 1994-2002)
©2008 Rodale institute
Compost also supports comparable crop yields (Compost Utilization Trial 1994-2002)
a
©2008 Rodale institute
• Test the compost to find out its NPK ratio
• Apply the right amount of N to feed your crop
• Be careful not to over-apply P
• Think of compost as a soil amendment (microbe food) more than as a fertilizer
Compost application guidelines to protect water quality
©2008 Rodale institute
• Higher corn and soybean yields in drought years
• Increased soil C and N
• Higher water infiltration
• Higher water holding cap.
• Higher microbial activity
Soil in Organic Systems
©2008 Rodale institute
Know How Much You Are Applying
Compost as a Soil Amendment not a Fertilizer
©2008 Rodale institute
Application Rate of 10 Wet Tons Per/A
©2008 Rodale institute
Compost Utilized in Conjunction with Cover Crops
Cover Crops
Hairy VetchHairy Vetch/RyeCrimson Clover
©2008 Rodale institute
• Compost Application – Compost is a soil amendment not a fertilizer
• We apply compost at a rate of 10 to 15 tons per acre every 3 to 5 years (500 lb/ 1000 sq.ft.)
• Know how much you are spreading
• If you have more than you need – Sell It
Compost Use It or Sell It
©2008 Rodale institute
Resources You Can Market
©2008 Rodale institute
Our Take Home Message
•Recycle food and yard waste back to the land
•Use compost in conjunction with cover crops
•Compost is work
•Support food production that treats soil as a living system.
•Buy organic food; at farmer’s markets, stores, and restaurants