A Flawed Food Production System and an Organic Solution - Compost

RODALE INSTITUTE
“Healthy Soil = Healthy Food = Healthy People”
“Healthy Planet”

A Flawed Food Production System
&
An Organic Solution - Compost
By Jeff Moyer
Farm Director

By Jeff Moyer
Farm 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.


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 Today
Farming in the Future

SOIL

Rodale Institute Paradise Lost

1970


 Answer the Question – Why make Compost?

 Discuss – How to Make Compost

 Talk About – Compost Utilization


Let’s Think About the Problems


Replace Chemistry & Bio-Technology


With Biology


Same Resources…… Different Philosophy


Soil Organic Matters

5% 1%
1% 5%

December 8th, 2011

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.


Organic Corn - 1995 Drought

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

Organic Conventional


Life In The
Soil


Soil Microorganisms
Group Average Number per Live Weight per Acre
Gram Of Soil Plow Depth (pounds)

Bacteria 1 billion 500
Actinomycetes 10 million 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


Composting in action…

piling

maturing

turning

application

Resources


Compost can play an important
role in all these efforts

Composted livestock waste is a value added product that:
•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 basics

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)


Garden Scale Compost Production


Garden Scale


Farm Scale

Compost Made Using Existing Farm Equipment


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


EPA 2009 Statistics
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.


World Food Waste Study

By Jonathan|Bloom Published: May 12, 2011

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…


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 Fahrenheit 154 Degrees Fahrenheit
12” Thermometer 36” Thermometer


Composting on leachate-retrieving pads


Phase 2: The Field Trial

In 2006 we grew field corn
to test the performance of
the composts

application

plowing

Waiting for the corn to grow


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


Compost application guidelines
to protect water quality

• 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


Soil in Organic Systems

• Higher corn and soybean
yields in drought years
• Increased soil C and N

• Higher water infiltration
• Higher water holding cap.
• Higher microbial activity

Compost as a Soil Amendment not a Fertilizer

Know How Much You Are Applying


Application Rate of 10 Wet Tons Per/A


Cover Crops

Compost Utilized in Conjunction with Cover Crops

Crimson Clover Hairy Vetch/Rye
©2008 Rodale institute Hairy Vetch

Compost Use It or Sell It

• 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


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 You
jeff.moyer@rodaleinst.org


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