Wow, compost lovers, we made it to season three! Thank you. That's three years of compost love being shared and celebrated. This season is going to be awesome. It will be as wide and varied as the microbes in our piles. We'll be talking with composters of all scales, new technologies, legislation, science, and some about the second compost operation, my farm, Earth Care Farm, is opening up in the neighboring state of Connecticut. There are so many ways to make compost, diverse materials, and varied scales of operation. We need it all. Let's talk about all of it. Can you feel the momentum gaining? I can. 

Speaking of diverse ingredients, what an honor to kick off the first episode of season three with Katrina Spade of Recompose. Recompose specializes in human composting. Yes, we are starting this season with human composting. Such a fascinating niche in our industry. Katrina talks about the incredibly thoughtful design process Recompose uses to help connect the general public to the reverence of composting. This is a deep, caring process, fully honoring the life of the one who passed and the loved ones left behind. Human composting isn't legal in all states yet, so you'll hear how Katrina helped get that legalized in Washington in 2019. It's now legal in seven states, but so far only happening in Washington and Colorado. In my state of Rhode Island, it hasn't passed yet, but seems like it will soon. Join me in this rich conversation with Katrina Spade.

Support the folks who support The Composter

You can learn more about Viably, formerly Komptech, and their portfolio of compost solutions at thinkviably.com. While there, request a complimentary consultative meeting to discover how Viably can help your compost operation deliver what is possible.

The OSC Pack Pact is a collective action campaign that works to reduce single-use packaging in the natural products industry. Receive a discount code to shop select products from leading natural products brands that you love. Click the link in the show notes to join the Pack Pact!

Compost use and selection decisions involve many factors and are not one-size-fits-all. The U .S. Composting Council's Seal of testing assurance, STA program helps you make the best decisions for your application. Learn about the three Cs of the STA program, clarity, consistency, and confidence and enroll at compostingcounsel.org

When I was at the US Compost Conference last winter, I met Lisa of Juneau Composts and my 'cool gal' radar went off. Her vibe shouted competent. Lisa is the real deal, collecting food scraps and making compost with very little support in the tough climate of Alaska. It was fascinating to talk to Lisa about the struggles of composting in this harsh environment and her ingenuity. I've been following Juneau Composts for a few years, back when it was a one-woman, scrappy enterprise and I swell with pride every time I see a post about new employees or record collection amounts.

Contact Jayne at [email protected]

Follow Earth Care Farm on Instagram and YouTube

Folks who make this show possible...

Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Viably. 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.

The Marbleseed 5th Organic Farming Conference (formerly known as MOSES) is February 22-24, 2024. 

James McSweeney, of The 131 School of Composting and author of Community-Scale Composting, and I jammed so well about what The 131 School is about—particularly the compost operators certificate program—his book, and his vision of composting in the future. James then turns the tables on me and asked me questions about Austria’s model of composting. At some point, we forgot we were being recorded, the conversation just flows until we remember we had prior engagements. Classic. I can’t get enough of the knowledgable composting community. We are learning so much from one another.

Contact Jayne at [email protected]

Follow Earth Care Farm on Instagram and YouTube

Folks who make this show possible...

Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Viably. 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.

The Marbleseed 5th Organic Farming Conference (formerly known as MOSES) is February 22-24, 2024. 

When Austria banned organics from the waste stream in '92, Ursula was--in part--tasked with how to divert organic waste from going to the landfill. In '96, she conducted an analysis of the waste stream. Yes, she personally dawned gloves and sorted through many samples of trash. 24% of her community's waste was organics (or what she calls "Biowaste"). Once she showed that data, and could project the savings that could be had, she had to figure out how to implement a plan to compost it. You'll get to hear how upper Austria has some of the cleanest streams of biowaste heading to farm composters, with Gerald and Karen, composting on a family farm.

Mentioned in the show...

Photos (via Google Drive)

Folks who make this show possible...

Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Viably. 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.

The Marbleseed 5th Organic Farming Conference (formerly known as MOSES) is February 22-24, 2024. 

On our International Solid Waste Association study tour on decentralized bio waste recycling—or just the compost scene—in Austria, we visited 3-er Hof Farm, Farm 3, and spoke with second generation composter Verena. Her families farm is an inspiring mix of compost production, crop production, and social connection with people of all abilities and ages. Instead of an interview, I recorded the lecture given at Farm 3. You’ll hear from Verena about Farm 3 and then from Florian, who organized the study tour, about how compost collection works. It’s a system of collecting and processing that works well in a semi-rural area.

Find out more about Earth Care Farm and follow Jayne's work...

Guest/topic recommendations -> [email protected]

Follow Earth Care Farm on Instagram

Subscribe to Earth Care Farm on YouTube

Mentioned in the show...

2023_ISWA_ST-Biowaste_Booklet.pdf

Folks who make this show possible...

Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Viably. 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.

The Marbleseed 5th Organic Farming Conference (formerly known as MOSES) is February 22-24, 2024. 

Most of you all know and love Karl Hammer from Vermont Compost (IG VermontCompost) already. If you’re looking for a concise “how-to” guide on how Karl makes his awesome compost, and even better known potting soil, this is not that interview. Karl is known for his verbose and winding stories that mostly answer the question given, but always entertain. There is a richness in speaking with someone like Karl with a lifetime of experience. So, prepare yourself for a deep and fertile conversation full of expert level nuggets

Find out more about Earth Care Farm and follow Jayne's work...

Guest/topic recommendations -> [email protected]

Follow Earth Care Farm on Instagram

Subscribe to Earth Care Farm on YouTube

Mentioned in the show...

Farmers of Forty Centuries by F. H. King

The Physics of Agriculture by F. H. King

The 131 School of Composting

The Bionutrient Food Association

Folks who make this show possible...

Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Viably. 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.

Today, I'm in Austria, joined by Dr. Martin Wellacher. Martin is uber committed to the environment, as most of us in this industry are eco-conscious, but he is next-level. He doesn't even own a car. So, he needed to plan to meet, traveling by bus and by bike just to get to us. After a tour of the Komptech facilities and a tasty locally-sourced lunch, we had a rich conversation about his 30 years in the compost industry, starting out just when legislation was passed requiring household organics to be separated back in '92, where many states are just starting right now. At the time, he worked with universities doing research and with Komptech developing technology and research for the compost industry. He now has his own engineering and consulting firm. Not everywhere has a layout like Austria, where the highly populated urban areas are very close to the farms, but there are a lot of places that are like that, like where I am in New England. There is a lot that we can learn from Austria's last 30 years that we can glean and apply to our own homes and towns and states.

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.

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.

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.

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.