The Rural Voice, 1998-09, Page 27work out in the system.
One of the problems the research
team is running into is keeping up
with the amount of dry matter, such
as wheat straw, needed to keep the
system working. The other is the cost
of the operation. Tom Smith,
president of Global Earth Products in
Utopia, Ont., which developed the
Marvel on-farm composting system,
estimates the system, including
Cover -All building, concrete work,
aeration equipment and the machine
that mixes composting materials
would run close to $160,000.
The idea behind the Ridgctown
College project is to use liquid
manure in the most efficient way, to
turn it into a valuable product by
mixing it with straw or some other
carbon -rich material and composting
it.
"This system isn't going to be for
everyone," said Fleming. "This is
just one of a number of options for
farmers."
Ridgetown College is excited
about composting. On August
6, the college held an open
house and demonstration tour for
farmers and industry people to have a
look around the facilities and see
first-hand the progress made by the
composting research project.
While the advantages of the
project's composting system have not
yet been realized, the research team
expects the project will prove that
composting is a relatively odour -free
treatment method. The finished
compost product contains similar
levels of nitrogen but in an organic
form, which releases its nutrients
more slowly than a non-organic
form. The compost material will be
easier to export off the farm, and sold
and harmful strains of bacteria and
weed seeds will be killed by the heat
generated from the composting.
"Compost is not well understood.
More education programs are
needed," said Dr. Henry Lyons, a
visiting professor from Ireland and
consultant on the project. "People
think of compost as the stuff they
buy in brown plastic bags at the store
and put on their flower or vegetable
garden. That's artificial, peat
withminerals added."
For a brief refresher course on
what compost is and how it is
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