The Composter Podcast

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Pierce Louis of Dirt Hugger Oct 12, 2022

Show notes

Dirt Hugger was founded in 2010 by Pierce Louis and Tyler Miller in The Dalles, Oregon, close to Hood River in the Columbia River Gorge.

Pierce and his business partner, Tyler, started Dirt Hugger after leaving their careers in drone technology. Their background in tech and business has served them well in the compost industry.

Their facility in Washington takes in 50,000 tons of organics a year, and they use a unique aerated pile system.

Dirt Hugger is well known for its high quality compost. They were recently bought by Atlas Organics, and I was especially interested in this transition into working with a bigger umbrella company.

Pierce has tons of great insights, and he was generous in sharing them with us.

You can find Jayne Merner Senecal and Earth Care Farm on Instagram

Also mentioned in the show...

US Composting Council The US Composting Council advances compost manufacturing, compost utilization, and organics recycling to benefit our members, society, and the environment.

Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth

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BioCycle is the leading resource on composting, organics recycling, biogas, end-product markets, policy and regulation, and community outreach and education. Sign up for the bi-monthly free newsletter here.

For 25+ years, Komptech has worked with scientists, agriculturalists, and consumers to develop a four-step process that produces healthy, contaminant-free compost while optimizing efficiency. Learn more about shred, turn, screen, seperate here and get a complimentary consultation to see if it's right for your commercial operation.

Ron Alexander Oct 05, 2022

Show notes

Composter and compost users have rightly been concerned with the high levels of phosphorus that can be found in composts, especially those with manure-based feed stocks. Phosphorus leaching is a serious water pollution issue. I had read an article in BioCycle written by Ron Alexander, of R. Alexander Associates, about how phosphorus in organic matter releases more slowly than inorganic, water-soluable phosphorus found in inorganic fertilizers and thought we should dig deeper into it. He has 35+ years experience in composting, has worked with over 200 composting and organics recycling facilities throughout the world, has received numerous awards such as the high Kellog award for outstanding service to the composting industry, and has been named by BioCycle as an organics recycling trailblazer.

You can find Jayne Merner Senecal and Earth Care Farm on Instagram

Also mentioned in the show...

The article in BioCycle: Phosphorus and Compost Use Dynamics

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Ben Dickerson of SOILutions Sep 28, 2022

Show notes

SOILutions has been making compost in New Mexico since '96 in a region that receives only 10" of annual rainfall, most of it all at once during the Summer monsoon season. Ben Dickerson and his team have lots of strategies and tips for composting in dry conditions without many natural resources closeby.

You can find Jayne Merner Senecal and Earth Care Farm on Instagram

Also mentioned in the show...

Composting on Earth Care Farm, a poem

Logan Labs for compost and soil testing

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Dr. Robert Rynk, Author of The Composting Handbook Sep 21, 2022

Show notes

Dr. Robert Rynk was aprofessor at NYU where he taught courses on composting, waste management, renewable energy, and agricultural engineering, senior editor of BioCycle Magazine, and executive editor of the peer-reviewed journal Composting Science and Utilization. He is also one the compost industry giants! Bob wrote the book On Farm Composting over 30 years ago. It was the book we at Earth Care Farm used to set up our compost site many decades ago. We talk about so many things, especially about challenges composters are facing with feedstock contamination (i.e. persistant herbicides and PFAS). There's now a sequel to On Farm Composting called The Composting Handbook that Bob was the editor and lead author of and I cannot recommend all 900+ pages of it enough.

You can find Jayne Merner Senecal and Earth Care Farm on Instagram

Also mentioned in the show...

On Farm Composting (free ebook)

The Composting Handbook

Rhonda Sherman's The Worm Farmer's Handbook

Rhonda Sherman on The No-Till Market Garden Podcast

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Monique Digiorgio of Table to Farm Compost Sep 14, 2022

Show notes

Table to Farm is a curbside collection company in Durango, CO, that has partnered with a local farm where they now produce compost. Table to Farm is six years in and has gone through a lot of hurdles to get to where they are now, collecting from 600+ residences and producing compost. They are now in the process of becoming a class III Colorado composter. Today, we're going to hear from someone just out of the start-up phase, what it's like to compost in a dry climate, and the challenges of being a compost start-up.

You can find Jayne Merner Senecal and Earth Care Farm on Instagram

Also mentioned in the show...

Dr. Elaine Ingham's Soil Food Web Course

US Compost Council

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Peter Wadewitz of Peats Soil Sep 07, 2022

Show notes

Peats Soils, our first international guest, is a second generation south Australian company focused on receiving, processing, and marketing recyclable organic resources in bulk and bag form. The vision of Peats Soil is to be a world leader in innovative and sustainable organics recycling. They have a 45+ year history in the creation of valuable landscaping, gardening, and horticultural products. Let's hear from South Australia's compost scene...

You can find Jayne Merner Senecal and Earth Care Farm on Instagram

Also mentioned in the show...

Study, Biodegradation of Prions in Compost

The International Compost Alliance

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Nora Goldstein of BioCycle Aug 31, 2022

Show notes

No one has a better pulse on the organics recylcing industry than Nora. She is the editor--and heart--of BioCylce, the organics recycling authority, and it's where I turn for news on composting. Nora's father, Jerry Goldstein, started BioCycle back in 1960 when it was then called Compost Science. Nora has taken her deep love of composting and turned it into a useful resource for all composters to learn more from and help each other.

You can find Jayne Merner Senecal and Earth Care Farm on Instagram

Also mentioned in the show...

The US Composting Council

Cornell Waste Management Institute

The Composting Handbook

The Compost Research Foundation

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance

The Composter is brought to you by...

For 25+ years, Komptech has worked with scientists, agriculturalists, and consumers to develop a four-step process that produces healthly, contaminant-free compost while optimizing efficiency. Learn more about shred, turn, screen, seperate here and get a complimentary consultation to see if it's right for your commercial operation.

Felicia Newman of Coast of Maine Aug 24, 2022

Show notes

Felicia Newman is the director of operations at Coast of Maine Compost, which makes a high-quality compost in many blends that are bagged and sold across the US. She has a background as a chemical engineer and a deep love of farming. In addition to wearing many hats at Coast of Maine, she also runs a half-acre no-till market garden called Three Dog Farm, where she has an endless supply of good compost.

You can find Jayne Merner Senecal and Earth Care Farm on Instagram

Also mentioned in the show...

The Maine School of Composting

The Composter is brought to you by...

Carla Castegnero of AgRecycle Aug 17, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to The Composter! In our first episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Carla Castegnero, co-founder and president of AgRecycle, Penn's largest composting operation headquartered in Pittsburg. AgRecycle was one of the pioneers in the composting industry founded in 1991. Carla has a wealth of knowledge on making high-quality compost with a wide variety of feedstocks. She's a seasoned composter and was the recipient of Rodale's Organic Pioneer Award in 2013.

You can find Jayne Merner Senecal and Earth Care Farm on Instagram

The Composter is brought to you by...

Introducing, The Composter with Jayne Merner Senecal Aug 15, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to The Composter, a podcast for farmers and composters. I'm your host and fellow composter, Jayne Merner Senecal. Join me in practical conversation between industry professionals and farmers with a passion for producing high-quality compost. We are going to dig deep into the science, technology, and art of compost production so that we as composters can help enliven the world's soils.

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