The New Farm website by The Rodale Institute teaches farmers practical steps to more effective and sustainable ways to convert agricultural waste from animals and crops into a resource that will build healthier soil with more balanced fertility.

The challenge is to keep nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in compost for crop use and to prevent those nutrients from entering waterways, where they can damage aquatic ecosystems.

This goal is being realized through the addition of ingredients in the composting process recipe that more fully mimic natural soil-forming processes. Dissemination of this knowledge to agricultural operations, particularly in areas like Lancaster County, can have very positive effects on water quality and the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

Funded by a Growing Greener grant, The Rodale Institute has performed a detailed comparison of composting processes using a variety of recipes. The comparison included the nutrient content of the finished composts, nutrient losses in run-off, bacterial populations, crop response and textural qualities.

It has been shown that a standard mix of leaves and manure amended only with clay, calcium and humic acid can improve the composting process by reducing nitrogen losses by up to 90 percent and phosphorus losses by up to 75 percent.

The finished compost also displays lower pathogen counts and matures more quickly than compost recipes lacking similar amendments. Improved textural quality, aggregation, and odor reduction are added process benefits.

Despite these small but valuable additions to the compost recipe, the composting process has remained unchanged and is still the simplest method to recycle agricultural waste. The use of quality compost can significantly improve the organic matter content of soil over time whereas field applications of synthetic fertilizer or raw manure can only support competitive crop growth and lack this soil-enhancing feature.

Fields treated with compost displayed 4.5 times more nitrogen remaining in the soil after harvest than synthetically fertilized soils, and 1.5 times higher than fields fertilized with raw manure.

In addition to nutrient benefits for crops, organic matter in soil improves performance by retaining moisture during drought conditions and minimizing nutrient run-off in wet conditions.

For more information, visit The New Farm website with its farmer-to-farmer know-how on how to take advantage of new, environment friendly farming techniques.

5/12/2006