Hot News

6.01.2007

By Tamara Scully
AFP Correspondent

Andover Township — Manure can become, quite literally, a stinky issue on-farm if not handled properly.
News of e-coli contamination of vegetables exposed to improperly treated manure, residential complaints regarding unpleasant odors from manure piles, lagoons or storage tanks and concerns regarding runoff of animal waste into water sources are all serious issues livestock farmers deal with daily.
The New Jersey Department of Agriculture requires that all farms with 8,000 or more Animal Units (one AU equals 1,000 pounds of live animal weight) or with 155 or more tons of animal waste per year file a manure management plan with NRCS.
But manure also offers an opportunity.
Sanitary handling of animal wastes can be effectively done in a manner that returns the manure into a humic compost mixture in which beneficial soil microbes thrive.
By returning the manure to the fields in a safe, clean and odor-free form, animal wastes no longer are a problem.
Instead, they are part of the solution that enhances soil health and fertility without chemicals, promotes healthier plant growth to reduce insect damage and utilizes other organic waste materials to reduce landfill use.
Jay Fischer, along with his wife, Jill, of Sussex County, saw first-hand how the issue of manure management — or the lack of manure management — was affecting the lives of their customers.
The Fischer family sawmill, established in 1997, was supplying horse shavings as well as finished lumber products to area farms.
Seeing the large piles of manure and bedding hiding behind the barns at many facilities, Jay Fischer began to ask about other ways to handle these wastes.
But none of his customers had any answers. So Fischer set out to find some.
Fischer wanted to turn the problem of animal waste disposal into an environmental solution that would benefit farmers, municipalities and homeowners alike.
He envisioned a business that could take the waste and naturally process it into a living compost packed with beneficial soil microbes.
Knowing that he would face challenges with zoning, DEP permitting and other regulations, he utilized his local County Extension Office and NRCS representative and ultimately began working with the NJDA.
Following several rounds of planning talks and after receiving an exemption from the DEP, the Fischers received approval to begin their business, Ag-Choice, which is an agricultural composting facility.
It is serving as a pilot program for the state, which is interested in developing large municipal composting facilities.
The Fischer’s facility has won recognition from the Sussex County Solid Waste Advisory Committee, which stated that “this type of facility is urgently needed in an agricultural County such as Sussex.”
Ag-Choice compost is NOFA-NJ certified for use in organic production. The compost is made using the Midwest Bio-Systems Advanced Composting method.
This method uses aerobic composting techniques that control details such as soil moisture, temperature, percent oxygen and other composting variables to produce a sanitary humic substance, which is loaded with beneficial microbes and free of any harmful pathogens.
Through the use of specific organic inputs, such as pre-consumer food waste that is mixed with the solid manure and the controlled turning of the windrows, the use of innoculant microbes, the addition of specified amounts of water and the constant monitoring of these conditions, compost that is much more than decomposed materials is created.
All of the compost produced at Ag-Choice undergoes extensive laboratory testing to analyze such things as the microbial profile, physical characteristics and chemical nutrients and minerals available in the finished compost.
These comprehensive tests include information on: nitrogen profile, salts, sulfur, harmful pathogens, diversity of beneficial microbes, redox potential and humic ion profile.
These factors all influence the quality of the compost.
The high-quality compost produced at Ag-Choice prevents soil compaction, balances nutrients in the soil to promote optimal plant growth, reduces erosion and nutrient leaching and provides a buffering quality to the soil, eradicating stress from pH or moisture changes.
The high humic content of this living compost is the key to its quality and effectiveness in gardens, lawns and crop fields.
“All of our finished compost is sent out for lab testing and analysis is available upon request. The finished compost is screened to 3/16th of an inch and sold in bulk as well as bags. We are especially interested in selling our products to agricultural growers, turf management people and homeowners for lawn maintenance and garden amendments,” Jill Fischer said.
Compost is available in bulk for pick-up at the compost site. Delivery is also available.
Bags of approximately 20 or 30 pounds are available for $3.50 or $5, respectively.
The bags will also be sold by several local garden centers, and are available at the sawmill. Additionally, several area grocery chains are in interested in selling bags of Ag-Choice compost at area stores.
In fact, the pre-consumer food waste Ag-Choice uses in their compost making process comes from area stores, and includes items such as bread and produce that is no longer saleable.
“By diverting these organics from either local landfills or other waste streams, we are providing an environmentally sound solution to organic waste reduction in our state, and helping prevent water quality issues created by manure runoff,” Fischer said.
“We take extra measures to ensure that we are not taking in more material than we can responsibly handle,” Fischer said. “We want to ensure that we take in only clean organic wastes which we can control and manage responsibly. We want to ensure that people learn the many benefits of this type of organic recycling and how it is a benefit to the environment as well as a valuable renewable natural resource, rather than how manure and bedding is currrently viewed — as a hazardous waste.”
Jay Fischer has continued to work with the state to develop guidelines for the regulation of composting facilities.
He is advocating a tiered approach, based on facility size, type of organics collected and the amount of waste handled. Ag-Choice is currently permitted to operate until July 2009 under the DEP program exemption they received in 2006.
After that, they hope that the state has resolved some of the issues of concern regarding composting regulations.
“Since we are the first to be doing this small-scale, on-farm composting, there are still many things that need to be worked out at the state level. We are excited about our business having an opportunity to lay the foundation for some of these important environmentally-responsible decisions,” Fischer said.
Irresponsible handling of farm waste is a serious issue that contributes to water pollution, odors, disease and soil degradation. Ag-Choice is pioneering another option for waste management in New Jersey.
The Fischers have established their business primarily focusing on a manure disposal option for equine owners, who may not be equipped to compost their own manure on-site.
For farmers who are interested in learning how to compost on-farm, whether for their own use or for retail sale, the Fischers want to be considered “as a trusted resource.”
They welcome inquiries and are actively seeking to form a New Jersey Composting Council to establish guidelines, provide technical guidance and learn to utilize other sources of organic waste, such as butcher waste.
To contact Ag-Choice, phone Jill or Jay Fischer at 973-786-5179 or e-mail at: info@ag-choice.com. The Web site is www.ag-choice.com
Midwest Bio-Systems can be found at www.aeromasterequipment.com