stimulate as much production of the sticky gums that
SOURcES
help hold aggregates together. Also, some uncomposted
Cornell Waste Management Institute, http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/.
materials have more nutrients readily available to feed
Epstein, E. 1997. The Science of Composting. Lancaster, PA: Tech-
nomic Publishing Company.
plants than do composts. If your soil is very deficient
Hoitink, H.A.J., D.Y. Han, A.G. Stone, M.S. Krause, W. Zhang, and
in fertility, plants may need readily available nutrients
W.A. Dick. 1997. Natural suppression. American Nurseryman
from residues. Routine use of compost as a nitrogen
(October 1): 90–97.
Martin, D.L., and G. Gershuny, eds. 1992. The Rodale Book of
source may cause high soil phosphorus levels to develop,
Composting: Easy Methods for Every Gardener. Emmaus, PA:
because of the relatively low N:P ratio. Finally, more
Rodale Press.
labor and energy usually are needed to compost residues
Millner, P.D., C.E. Ringer, and J.L. Maas. 2004. Suppression of
strawberry root disease with animal manure composts. Compost
than to simply apply the uncomposted residues directly.
Science and Utilization 12: 298–307.
Natural Rendering: Composting Livestock Mortality and Butcher
SUMMARY
Waste. Cornell Waste Management Institute, http://compost.
Composting organic residues before applying them to
css.cornell.edu/naturalrenderingFS.pdf.
Richard, T. 1996a. The effect of lignin on biodegradability.
soil is a tried and true practice that can, if done cor-
http://compost.css.cornell.edu/calc/lignin.html.
rectly, eliminate plant disease organisms, weed seeds,
Richard, T. 1996b. Solving the moisture and carbon-nitrogen
and many (but not all) potentially noxious or undesir-
equations simultaneously. http://compost.css.cornell.edu/calc/
simultaneous.html.
able chemicals. Compost provides extra water-holding
Rothenberger, R.R., and P.L. Sell. Undated. Making and Using
capacity to a soil, provides a slow release of N, and may
Compost. Extension Leaflet (File: Hort 72/76/20M). Columbia:
help to suppress a number of plant disease organisms as
University of Missouri.
well as enhance the plant’s ability to fight off diseases.
Rynk, R., ed. 1992. On Farm Composting. NRAES-54. Ithaca, NY:
Northeast Regional Agricultural Engineering Service.
Critical to good composting is to have (a) plentiful
Seymour, R.S. 1991. The brush turkey. Scientific American
decomposable C- and N-containing materials, (b) good
(December).
aeration, (c) moist conditions, and (d) enough size to
Staff of Compost Science. 1981. Composting: Theory and Practice
for City, Industry, and Farm. Emmaus, PA: JG Press.
allow high temperatures to develop. It is also necessary
Weil, R.R., D.B. Friedman, J.B. Gruver, K.R. Islam, and M.A. Stine.
to turn the pile or windrow to ensure that all the organic
Soil Quality Research at Maryland: An Integrated Approach
materials have been exposed to the high temperatures.
to Assessment and Management. Paper presented at the 1998
ASA/CSSA/SSSA meetings, Baltimore. This is the source of the
While these and other good reasons to make and use
quote from Cam Tabb.
compost are important considerations, there are also
good reasons to directly apply uncomposted organic
residues to soil.
149
Building SoilS for Better CropS: SuStainaBle Soil ManageMent
a case study
CaM tabb
kearneysville, West virginia
During back-to-back drought years in 2006 and 2007,
Inspired by a West Virginia University researcher’s
West Virginia beef farmer Cam Tabb’s crop yields
presentation on back yard composting, Tabb realized he
exceeded the averages for his area. At times, neigh-
needed to add a carbon source to his manure and turn
bors have wondered whether Tabb enjoys some kind
the piles to encourage aeration. Once he began mixing in
of miraculous microclimate, since he seems to make it
sawdust from horse stalls and turning the piles, he was
through dry periods with seemingly little impact.
on his way to becoming a master composter. Now, after
“I get blamed for getting more water than they got
years of fine-tuning his operation, he can talk about
because the corn looks better,” laughs Tabb, who raises
compost for hours.
500 Angus beef cattle and grows small grains, hay, and
He earns money taking in and hauling away a wide
corn for grain and silage, using no-till methods, on
range of compostable materials from a faithful clien-
tele—including several municipalities, area fish hatcher-
Tabb’s composting efforts, combined
ies, horse operators, and neighbors—that has developed
simply through word of mouth. “People can pay me at
with annual soil tests and rotations, have done
half the cost it would take them to get their trash hauled
more than improve his soil and crop yields;
away,” he says. “We then process and sell the materials
in fact, composting has become one of the
we take away.”
farm’s most important sources of income.
The ingenuity of Tabb’s composting operation lies
in having found ways to make money several times off
1,900 acres near Charles Town, West Virginia. Tabb
of these “waste” materials. For example, he chips scrap
credits his strong yields to fifteen years of applying
wood that he’s been paid to haul from home construction
composted horse, dairy, and cattle manure to his fields.
sites and sells that material as bedding to horse operators.
“I get a healthier plant with a better root system because
He rents containers to the horse owners to store used
my soil structure is better,” he says. “So the rain that you
bedding, which he hauls back to his farm, composts, and
do get really sinks in.”
sifts to create a high-grade compost product that he either
Tabb’s composting efforts, combined with annual
sells or uses on his farm. He estimates that he composts
soil tests and rotations, have done more than improve
at least 26,000 cubic yards of horse manure annually.
his soil and crop yields; in fact, composting has become
The fish wastes that Tabb receives from a federal
one of the farm’s most important sources of income.
fish hatching facility are composted with sawdust and
Tabb has come a long way since he used to pile
horse manure. “This quickly creates a nice compost that
manure on hard-packed ground and watch it ice over
contains 15–16 pounds N per ton, almost double the N
in the winter. “Before, I handled the manure as a waste,
content of our basic compost product,” he says.
not a resource,” he says. “I thought it had to smell bad to
Tabb also rents out containers to contractors clear-
be any good. That was before I realized that I was smell-
ing land of trees and stumps. “When we get logs, we save
ing nitrogen being lost into the air as ammonia.”
them aside—they’re better for [reselling as] firewood,”
150
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he says. After the soil and rocks are removed from the
compaction while spreading.
scraps and split stumps, the wood is mulched and sold
He relies on experience and observation instead
to nurseries. The stump dirt, which he describes as
of adhering to strict rules while making compost.
being “about 85% dirt and 15% compost” is sifted and
“Everyone around the farm knows what to look for in
screened, creating a topsoil product that he markets
turning the piles,” he says. Heat-loving fungi, stimulated
back to the contractors for landscaping purposes. “None
into releasing spores once the pile heats up to tempera-
of the topsoil we sell comes from our own farm,” he says.
tures above 140°F, form mushrooms as the pile cools
“It is all from recycled materials that we have brought in.”
down. “We wait until the temperature goes under 130°F,
While “crop response and the reduction of manure
and turn the pile when we see the fragile mushrooms,”
volume” are what initially got Tabb excited about
he explains. He adds, “We never turn a pile that is going
composting, today he is particularly motivated by the
upwards in heat,” so that piles will reach sufficient
major role that composting plays in ensuring his farm’s
temperatures to kill pathogens and weed seeds. Turning,
economic sustainability. “It pays us to have a good
which Tabb does with a front-end loader, pays for itself
[compost] supply on the farm,” he says. “There are the
by reducing the volume of the pile. Turning also stimu-
longer-term benefits of increased organic matter and
lates more rapid and thorough decomposition of materi-
plant health, while with fertilizer prices [rising even
als in the pile, inducing temperatures hot enough to kill
higher] in 2008, [our] compost is worth more than it
weed seeds and diseases. Based on his experience, Tabb
ever has been.”
recommends maintaining a large ratio of old to fresh
The water-retention and slow-nutrient-release quali-
materials within compost piles. This ensures that the
ties of his compost have boosted Tabb’s yields in good
moisture released from fresh materials will be absorbed
growing years and buffered his operation during hard
by drier, older materials, thus preventing leachate for-
ones. One year, he recorded an 80-bushel corn yield
mation and speeding the piles’ overall inoculation and
advantage on an acre amended with his compost com-
decomposition rates.
pared to an acre where no compost had been applied.
Tabb is pleased by the long-term results of apply-
Tabb spreads between 10 and 12 tons of compost per
ing compost at his farm, where the soil has taken on
acre to his crop fields, depending on soil test results, just
a spongier feel and has become more abundant in
once every three years. His compost—which supplies 9,
earthworms. He also sees little to no runoff from his
12, and 15 pounds of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash
compost-treated fields. “Our land makes up a total small
per ton, respectively—provides, with the exception of
watershed, and our springs feed a federal fish hatchery.
nitrogen, sufficient nutrients for his grain and hay crops.
If there were any negative runoff in the water, it’d be
The compost he spreads is never less than a year old.
ours, and we’d hear about it from the people down-
Over time, he has become more selective about where
stream,” he observes.
he spreads, focusing on fields with 2–3% organic matter
Impressed by his results, several of Tabb’s neighbors
content instead of those that have attained 5–7%.
have begun to make and spread their own “black gold”
Tabb’s windrow piles of compost—“They’re bigger
in recent years. “Almost any farmer would understand
than anything you’ve ever seen,” he says—measure 100
what I do,” Tabb says. “I hadn’t realized that I was a
feet long, 20–25 feet wide, and 15 feet high. The piles
practicing environmentalist, but almost every farmer is.
are set up at eight different locations on his farm, which
These days, you can’t afford not to be.”
reduces the number of tractor trips, cost, and risk of soil
—uPdated by aMy kreMen
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