The Composter Podcast | Podcast on RSS.com

The Composter Podcast

The Composter Podcast

by Jayne Merner

The Great Aussie Composting Road Show with Robert Rynk & Matthew Cotton of The Composting Handbook

Robert Rynk and Matthew Cotton, who you may recognize as the authors of The Composting Handbook, just came back from a tour giving composting workshops to Australian farmers. They had an intensive nine workshops over twelve days, about 1,600 miles travelled! Although a tiring trip, for sure, they seem to be even more optimistic about the future of composting. Let's listen in to what they have to say in retrospect. Mentioned in the show... The USCC Compost Operator Training Course October 23rd - 27th, in San Marcos, TX Folks who make this show possible... Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Komptech. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you. The Culinary Breeding Network's Variety Showcase for plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, comsumers, and more, on October 16th in NY. GET TICKETS HERE! High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here. Xsense provides home safety and environmental monitoring products for your peace of mind.

Water Management on the Compost Farm with Steven Wisbaum of Champlain Valley Compost Co

Steven Wisbaum, of Champlain Valley Compost Co & CV Compost, has been growing organic food and making compost for over 30 years. Today, we talk about water management on the compost farm. He provides custom composting services to farms and makes his own premium manure-based compost. In addition writing a variety of compost related articles and guides, Steven has also become the largest distributor of ComposTex compost covers. Through these, he has helped composters around the world make a better compost using less labor and fuel. I use Steven’s ComposTex covers to cover our finished compost piles and they’ve made a big difference with the quality of our product. Folks who make this show possible... Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Komptech. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you. Vermont Compost Company for premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil! High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here. Xsense provides home safety and environmental monitoring products for your peace of mind.

The Composting for Community Initiative with Brenda Platt of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Brenda Platt is the director and life-force behind the Composting for Community Initiative of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. ILSR has a vision of thriving, diverse, equitable communities. To reach this vision, they build local power to fight corporate control. They are a national research and advocacy organization that partners with allies across the country to build an American economy driven by local priorities accountable to people and the planet. Today, we’re going to talk about one of the institutes five key initiatives: the Composting for Community Initiative is advancing local composting to create jobs, enhance soils, protect the climate, and reduce waste through advocacy, training, research, demonstration sites, and coalition building. Mentioned in the show... The wealth of resources provided by the ISLR on composting Folks who make this show possible... Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Komptech. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you. Vermont Compost Company for premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil! High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here. Xsense provides home safety and environmental monitoring products for your peace of mind.

Building Community through Community Composting with Michael Martinez of LA Compost

Michael Martinez is the founder and executive director of LA Compost. He has chosen compost as a way to show his care for humanity and build a healthy community. His work has been incredibly impactful. LA Compost now has a diverse network of 41 community composting locations across LA county. I heard Michael speak at the US Compost Conference last Winter. He often brings people to happy tears as he speaks from the heart about his love of compost. Hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did. Editorial note, we had some technical difficulties and are only able to publish the last half of our wonderful talk. Please take a moment to learn more about the amazing work Michael and LA Compost are doing! Folks who make this show possible... Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Komptech. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you. Vermont Compost Company for premium living soils, composts, and potting mixes. Invest in your soil! High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here. Xsense provides home safety and environmental monitoring products for your peace of mind.

The Composter, Season Two, Begins Tomorrow

Hey Composters and compost lovers, it’s Jayne Merner of Earth Care Farm! Episode one of season two of The Composter will air Monday, August 21st, and continue with a new episode every Monday for ten weeks. We have an awesome lineup, chatting with composters behind many compost facilities like LA Compost, Vermont Compost, Champlain Valley Compost, and more. And, I’ll be headed to Austria to tour compost facilities in late-August. Expect some news from me from the country that composts the most organic matter in all of Europe. I’m hoping to bring back some tips for all of us to adapt. It’s going to be a rich, fertile season two. If you love compost as much as me, join me!

Getting to Know the Composters of Compost Conference '23

Hey y'all, Farmer Jayne here. All those beautiful voices you hear were just some of the composters with me at the USCC Compost Conference with me last week in sunny California. I've had a week for that experience to percolate and have settled back into my farm compost site, Earth Care Farm, in Rhode Island where is -2F today. I always love being home, but whoa, that conference was so energizing! I learned a ton by visiting lots of different sized operations, the workshops were fantastic, the trade show floor was on point, but meeting my fellow compost lovers was by far the best part. I wanted to bring you a little of that compost conference experience to our listeners, so here is a little offering from some of the people I met and what they are up to. Follow the folks featured in the show... Charlie of Compost Bowling Green Jamie of Compost Queen PBC Bob Rynk of The Composting Handbook Nicholas aka Da Compost King Ryan & Adrienne of Happy Trash Lisa of Juneau Composts John & Stacey of New Earth Farm Composting

Compost Conference '23 with Todd & Brandon of Komptech Americas

Hey compost lovers, it's Jayne. I'm in Ontario, California, at the USCC Compost Conference '23. It's the largest gathering of composters in the world! Last night, Komptech Americas organized a meet-and-greet for listeners of this podcast. I didn't know what to expect, but it turned out to be the highlight of the week. We gathered on fancy white couches under an enormous Komptech windrow turner and I got to hear your stories. Stories of composters from all over the world and all different sized operations. It's not often compost nerds get to gather and geek out in the same space and time. Truly invigorating! I'm here at my first live interview, chatting with Todd Dunderdale and Brandon Lapsys of Komptech Americas. They have been coming to this conference for many years, Todd being at the very first one twenty years ago. These two have a great pulse on the industry and I wanted to hear about the changes they were seeing, especially when it comes to new equipment. Many thanks to Komptech for sponsoring The Composter Podcast! 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.

See you at The US Compost Council Conference '23!

It's been a couple of months since the first season of The Composter wrapped up, but don't worry, season two is in the works. In fact, I'm hoping to see many of you at The US Compost Council Conference '23 next week, January 24th through the 27th, in Ontario, California. If you'll be there, let's meet up and talk compost. Listen for more details. Check out the US Compost Council Conference registration if you haven't already. I'll be at the Komptech trade show booth, sponsors of season one of the podcast. See you there!

Mike Merner and Justin Boss of Earth Care Farm

For the season finale of The Composter Podcast, we talk all things Earth Care Farm, which is my family's compost operation. You'll get to hear from my dad, Mike Merner, also known as 'papi,' the founder and heart of Earth Care Farm. Quality compost is his life's work. He's an inspiration for many, including me. For all the loader operators out there listening as you turn the piles, I've included a bonus discussion with our compost production manager, Justin Boss, about the machinery used here. It takes great skill and consistency to make really high quality compost—and you, operators, are the key to that. You can find Jayne Merner Senecal and Earth Care Farm on Instagram The Composter is brought to you by... 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.

Pierce Louis of Dirt Hugger

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 The Composter is brought to you by... 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.

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