Protecting Water Quality and Promoting Economic Efficiency at Agricultural Composting Facilities

Project Overview

OW10-329
Project Type: Professional + Producer
Funds awarded in 2010: $49,115.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2011
Region: Western
State: Oregon
Principal Investigator:
Nick Andrews
Oregon State University

Annual Reports

Information Products

Commodities

  • Agronomic: barley, corn, hops, oats, potatoes, rapeseed, safflower, sunflower, wheat, grass (misc. perennial), hay
  • Fruits: melons, apples, berries (other), berries (blueberries), berries (cranberries), cherries, grapes, peaches, pears, plums, berries (strawberries)
  • Nuts: hazelnuts, walnuts
  • Vegetables: artichokes, asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucurbits, eggplant, garlic, greens (leafy), leeks, onions, parsnips, peas (culinary), peppers, radishes (culinary), rutabagas, sweet corn, tomatoes, turnips, brussel sprouts
  • Additional Plants: herbs, ornamentals, trees
  • Animals: bovine, poultry, goats, rabbits, swine, sheep
  • Animal Products: dairy
  • Miscellaneous: mushrooms

Practices

  • Animal Production: manure management, feed/forage
  • Crop Production: nutrient cycling, organic fertilizers
  • Education and Training: demonstration, extension, farmer to farmer, networking, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, study circle, workshop
  • Farm Business Management: whole farm planning, new enterprise development, risk management
  • Production Systems: organic agriculture
  • Soil Management: organic matter

    Proposal abstract:

    Goal: This project seeks to assist farmers in meeting state composting regulations as implemented by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

    Justification: DEQ released new rules for composting facilities in Sept, 2009. Farmers will be required to comply with environmental standards in the Rule. Environmental protection methods such as concrete pads, roofs and waste water treatment systems are prohibitively expensive for most agricultural composters. If required, they would inhibit agricultural composting. Some farmers have developed low cost and effective techniques for minimizing the environmental risks from composting. However, water quality can be impacted by poorly managed agricultural compost facilities, especially as the scale of agricultural composting operations has increased. DEQ recognizes the importance of composting for improving soil quality and meeting Oregon's organics recycling goals. However, they are required to protect water quality. DEQ will consider low cost alternatives, but there is insufficient data to provide confidence in the efficacy of these methods. This project will test BMPs that protect water quality while enabling farmers to compost in an economically viable way.

    Outcomes for project participants will include: 1. Increased farmer understanding of water quality risks associated with composting, and practical methods for mitigating these risks, 2. Improved regulatory understanding of the limitations and opportunities for managing environmental risk on agricultural composting facilities, and 3. Improved research based understanding of leachate and runoff movement through and from compost piles. Project outreach will be accomplished by publishing Best Management Practices (BMPs) for agricultural composting facilities and by incorporating project findings into curricula for the OSU Agricultural Composting School.

    To achieve these outcomes, the project will have two major activities: 1. Conduct a participatory process to build trust and increase knowledge sharing among farmers, compost facility regulators, compost industry consultants, and Extension faculty, 2. Collect collaborative monitoring data to determine hazard of compost leachate to groundwater.

    Participatory Process: We will convene at least two facilitated Farmer Focus Sessions and one tour of agricultural composting facilities. We will tour agricultural composting facilities in Oregon and Washington and review methods used to protect the environment at these facilities. The Farmer Focus Sessions will allow participants to explain their concerns and collaboratively explore solutions in an open and productive atmosphere. We will bring together agricultural composters, regulators, Extension faculty and other agricultural professionals. Farmers will identify compost management methods that they feel are cost effective and protect the environment. Technical advisors (OSU Extension and regulators) will discuss these methods with farmers and help to identify the most promising methods that could be tested in the field for compliance with the new Rules. The advisors will also determine the methods used to evaluate environmental performance of the management techniques identified by participating farmers.

    Collaborative Monitoring Data: Promising environmental protection methods will be implemented at OSU’s North Willamette Research & Extension Center composting facility and collaborating farms that agree to host trials. Management methods may include pile shape, size, compost recipes, moisture content, turning frequency, tarps, and piles seeded with grasses. During these trials, leachate production and movement will be monitored, and the cost of each management alternative will be estimated. This project will draw on expertise from DEQ and Oregon Department of Agriculture. Their staff time is being contributed by their agencies and is not included in the budget. They are also planning to complement our leachate measuring work with their own resources to ensure that they get enough data to validate the BMPs to their satisfaction.

    Outreach: Findings from the Farmer Focus Sessions and compost trials will be used to develop Best Management Practices (BMPs). These will be drafted by OSU faculty, DEQ staff, and composting consultants, and reviewed by participating farmers. BMP’s will be published through OSU Extension and will inform DEQ’s internal guidelines for regulating agricultural composting facilities.

    Project objectives from proposal:

    Goal: This project seeks to assist farmers in meeting state composting regulations as implemented by the Oregon Dept of Environmental Quality. Objectives include: 1. Increased farmer understanding of water quality risks associated with composting, and practical methods for mitigating these risks, 2. Improved regulatory understanding of the limitations and opportunities for managing environmental risk on agricultural composting facilities, and 3. Improved research based understanding of leachate and runoff movement through and from compost piles. To achieve these objectives, the project will have two major activities:

    1. Participatory process. We will convene at least two facilitated Farmer Focus Sessions and one tour of agricultural composting facilities. We will tour agricultural composting facilities in Oregon and Washington and review methods used to protect the environment at these facilities. The Farmer Focus Sessions will allow participants to explain their concerns and collaboratively explore solutions in an open and productive atmosphere. We will bring together agricultural composters, regulators, Extension faculty and other agricultural professionals. Farmers will identify compost management methods that they feel are cost effective and protect the environment. Technical advisors (OSU Extension and regulators) will discuss these methods with farmers and help to identify the most promising methods that could be tested in the field. The advisors will also determine the methods used to evaluate environmental performance of the management techniques identified by participating farmers.

    2. Collaborative monitoring of compost leachate hazard to groundwater. Environmental protection methods will be implemented at OSU’s North Willamette Research & Extension Center composting facility and collaborating farms that agree to host trials. Management methods may include pile shape, size, compost recipes, moisture content, turning frequency, tarps, and piles seeded with grasses. During these trials, leachate production and movement will be monitored, and the cost of each management alternative will be estimated.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.