a flawed food production system and an organic solution - compost

©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


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.


Our Broken Food System


We’re Polluting Our Water


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


Childhood Obesity is Epidemic


Effects of a Broken Food System


Wasted Food


Inspirational Wisdom

“ A nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.”

Franklin Delano Roosevelt


Farming on Rodale Land 8000 Years Ago

Farming TodayFarming in the Future

SOIL


Rodale Institute Paradise Lost

1970


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


Let’s Think About the Problems


Replace Chemistry & Bio-Technology


With Biology


Same Resources…… Different Philosophy


Soil Organic Matters

1%1% 5%5%5 % 1%


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


Organic Corn - 1995 Drought

Organic Conventional

Better infiltration, retention, and delivery to plants helps avoid drought

damage


Life In The Soil


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)


Organic Compost Delivered To USDA in DC


Composting in action…

maturing

turning

application

piling


Resources


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.


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


Garden Scale Compost Production


Garden Scale


Compost Made Using Existing Farm Equipment

Farm Scale


Bucket by Bucket Turning


Commercial Scale

Farm Scale Turning Using Commercial Scale Equipment

Windrows Are 15ft. X 6 ft.


Locating Your Compost Site

Be sure to Get All State and Local Approvals


Food Waste Mixed With Yard Waste


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


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


Contaminants In Food Waste


Sittler Pull Type Turner


Coffee Grounds


Potato Cake – Processing Food Waste


Mixing Materials


Some Things Don’t Mix Well


Well Shaped Windrow


Fleece Cover


Can You Compost in the Winter?


23 Degrees Fahrenheit Ambient Temperature


Compost Temperatures

135 Degrees Fahrenheit12” Thermometer

154 Degrees Fahrenheit36” Thermometer


Composting on leachate-retrieving pads


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


Soil N levels after four weeks of corn growth

Soil N levels after four weeks of corn growth


We used lysimeters to collect the soil water (leachate)


Compost stabilizes nitrogen in the soil, reducing nitrate leaching (Compost Utilization Trial 1994-2002)


Compost also supports comparable crop yields (Compost Utilization Trial 1994-2002)

a


• 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


• 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


Know How Much You Are Applying

Compost as a Soil Amendment not a Fertilizer


Application Rate of 10 Wet Tons Per/A


Compost Utilized in Conjunction with Cover Crops

Cover Crops

Hairy VetchHairy Vetch/RyeCrimson Clover


• 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


Resources You Can Market


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


MAKE & USE

COMPOST

Thank [email protected]

a flawed food production system and an organic solution - compost

Education

dc2008 rodale institute

food2008 rodale institute

rodale land

rodale institute paradise

rodale institutehealthy

tons of food waste

healthy food

global food waste