Why On-Farm Composting?

Agricultural waste materials, such as animal manures, can create serious water quality problems if not handled properly. Numerous farms throughout Washington are already struggling financially, and some are having difficulty resolving water quality issues. One solution is composting.

On-farm composting is a win-win situation for farmers and for water quality. Compost is needed to implement new and coming best management practices in urban development, creating a market, and potential income, for on farm compost processors. Farms can essentially offer another product and take care of water quality issues at the same time.

There are programs already in place in greater metropolitan areas such as King and Snohomish County. These exemplify the valuable resources and opportunities for creative farm waste management that are coming your way more each day.

Progressive On-Farm Composting in Snohomish County

In 1998, Snohomish County Solid Waste Management Division launched an on-farm composting initiative as a means to increase the number of smaller scale compost facilities handling yard debris. The program was the direct result of the 1997 odor situation at Cedar Grove Compost which at the time was handling over 60% of the region's composting capacity. Snohomish County realized that they needed to look at encouraging more decentralization of facilities and capacity in the future.

For several years, the County's Surface Water Management Division staff were asking public works staff if they could do something to help promote farm composting. There was an incredible need for programs to help farmers compost their own wastes, for their own economic good (including liability) and to protect water resources from contamination.

Bailey Compost, a facility which composted the waste from the Bailand Dairy Farm, began its interest in composting due to its own manure waste problems. Don Bailey researched the situation more, hired Peter Moon (an on-farm composting expert) as a consultant, and became interested in getting permits to compost yard debris also, which is a regulated material defined as a solid waste. Peter Moon worked with Don and the Snohomish Health Department to make Bailey Farms the first permitted on-farm compost facility handling yard debris in Snohomish County.

King County

Lack of, or improperly managed agricultural waste (manure and bedding) is a serious problem that impacts water quality and fisheries habitat throughout King County. With substantially heightened attention towards water resource issues due to the Endangered Species Act Chinook Salmon listing, and the January 1999 enforcement date of the King County Livestock Management Ordinance, it is certain that proper management of agricultural waste will endure an increased level of scrutiny by the public.

In response, a King County Department of Natural Resources (DNR) staff team underwent a review of agricultural waste issues to document the extent of the problem and provide a series of strategies to appropriately handle these materials using an on-site/off-site approach. The County created and is now in the second year of an on-farm composting training program with the assistance of consultant Peter Moon.

In King County there are approximately 20,000 horses on 10,000 small farms, who generate 290,000 tons of manure and bedding annually. When the DNR staff team estimated the volume of organic materials in Seattle and King County, separating out the total tonnage of livestock organic, the magnitude of livestock waste becomes clearer. Proper management of these materials is critical to protect the environment, comply with requirements of local ordinances and capture a beneficial organic material in a sustainable method or process.

DNR's on-farm program will offer livestock owners a range of both on-site and off-site management strategies. With these strategies, livestock owners will have a variety of means to manage the waste materials produced by livestock in a compliant, feasible and responsible fashion.