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The article focuses on the upcoming Southern Farm Show in Raleigh, providing a platform for farmers to explore the latest agricultural advancements, including precision agriculture, microbial soil amendments, and other technologies aimed at improving productivity. It mentions the show features new exhibitors addressing these advancements, and various educational sessions are offered, with additional highlights such as the Ag Development Forum, Breakfast with the Commissioner.

The article focuses on the fact that the Canadian Biogas Association (CBA) released the Canadian Digestate Management Guide in March 2023, outlining best practices for managing digestate from anaerobic digestion facilities globally. It reports on the production, nutrient content, and management practices of digestate, its relevance to industrial and agricultural biogas operations, and the use of fertilizer.

TRIAL SPECIFICS After the Oasis Vineyard ground was prepped in late 2016, the "Pinot Noir" vines, on 1103P rootstock, were planted 9 feet by 5 feet apart in March of 2017, resulting in 968 vines per acre. WORLDLY VIEW Beck is the Science Advisor for Monterey Pacific Inc. (MPI), a vineyard management firm that operates vineyards throughout the California Central Coast. 6 | AMERICAN FRUIT GROWER A ND WESTERN FRUIT GROWER | May 2021 COVER STORY CULTURAL PRACTICES Grape growers turn to biochar soil amendment to fire up vine growth. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the process of urban soil husbandry through the use of composting and subsoiling. It mentions that the process of soil husbandry was conducted in The Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and in Virginia and is an example of an embayment with problems on water quality. It discusses the Water Quality Volume (WQV) as a method in planning for storm water retrofits and for new storm water management systems.

The article offers information about the comparison of composts and a Class A biosolids blend to chemical fertilizer to measure soil and plant benefits. It mentions about the business of making compost or making a potting soil blend with the biosolids, feedstocks and quantities matter. It discusses the increasing use of vermicompost on plants.

The article focuses on the need to improve non-blueberry soils for production of healthy and high-yielding plants. It mentions that researchers are focusing to determine different soils amendments that work in commercial blueberry production. It also presents the views of horticulture agent Bruce McLean on research to examine different forestry-based material that can act as good soil amendment options for blueberries.

The article explores stored soil carbon is a hot commodity as corporations search for solutions to reduce their carbon footprint. One option is purchasing carbon credits from agricultural producers, carbon will be measured on U.S. farmland has yet to be determined, according to Soil Scientist Katie Lewis, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension.

The article highlights that the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, can help to encourage changes in agricultural practices through implementing programs that support or provide financial assistance to growers who implement beneficial practices.

The article focuses on a study by soil scientist Johannes Leagues regarding the use of carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance to reveal the organic chemical structures of biochar and its interaction with other substances in the soil. It is mentioned that the number of biochar products sold as soil amendments has also exploded in the past five yearrs.

The article discusses the Urban Landscape Fertilizers regulations developed by the American Association of Plant Food Control Officials (AAPFCO). It mentions that the regulation will assist interstate commerce with agricultural and horticultural staples. It notes that the AAPFCO register and regulate the distribution of fertilizer, soil amendments and limiting agents.

The article reports that Puget Sound 'Soils for Salmon' program started in Washington State in 1999. Its mission was to promote simple best practices for developers that would rebuild soil health protecting native soil and restoring construction-disturbed soils with compost amendment. It mentions that Organic-amended soils sustain plant life, filter and retain water, trap metals and nutrients and biodegrade contaminants, and reduce the quantity of chemicals and water applied for landscaping.

The article focuses on the increase in the demand for compost brought about by soil amendment ordinances of U.S. municipalities. Topics discussed include the Soils for Salmon initiative launched in Washington in 1999, the land use code adopted by Colorado in 1998 requiring compost use at new building and development sites, and the RainScapes program of Montgomery County, Maryland aimed at reducing storm water runoff volume and improve water quality.

The article reports that Anaerobic digestion (AD) help in getting the green energy and the soil amendment as the material coming out of a digester referred to as digestate is as good for soils as compost or municipal biosolids. Topics include common in municipal wastewater treatment; and solids to meet regulatory requirements for pathogen destruction and volatile solids reduction.

The article discusses the move of the city of San Jose in California to use the integrated and regional nature of ecosystem resources to leverage solutions that conserve resources and save money. As part of the city-compliance with the federal storm water management requirements, San Jose is looking for sustainable landscape opportunities to reduce runoff. The use of mulch and compost products in the city is mentioned.

The article focuses on the creation of composting facilities in Scotland, profiling Keenan Recycling Ltd. which is processing nearly 90,000 tons per year of garden waste and commercial and household food waste. Being the chairman of the Scottish Branch of the Association for Organics Recycling (AfORS), Grant Keenan has seen continual changes in biodegradable waste management industry throughout the country. Investment in anaerobic digestion plants and in-vessel systems is discussed. INSET: ORGANICS RECYCLERS LOOK FOR FUTURE GROWTH.

The article features Don Cameron, one of the winners of the Farm Press/Cotton Foundation High Cotton Award in California. It states that he was recognized of his leadership in the country's agriculture and his accomplishments in cotton production. It highlights his effort of fostering a cornupia of crops through soil amendments along with persistent salt leaching to make the land healthy as well as the plants grow.

The focuses on the pilot project undertaken by Weis Markets Inc., a store chain, in partnership with composter Two Particular Acres (TPA), to process organic residuals from four locations in the U.S. It points on the partnership between TPA and H & K Group, an aggregate producer with a fleet of more than 700 trucks that are useful in handling incoming organic feedstocks. It states that the program offers composted preconsumer food waste back to customers as a nutrient-rich soil amendment.

The article offers information on the Inland Empire (IE), a metropolitan region in the Southern California including Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. It notes that the area has a storied history of agriculture and diverse range of topography and climate. It has its IE Regional Composting Facility which processed 150,000 wet tons per year of biosolids and 60,000 tons per year of amendment inside a retrofitted warehouse which produces soil amendments, sustainability, and economic value.

The article reports on the Plate to Garden Compost program of the Minnesota Composting Council (MNCC), which provides an opportunity to schools and organizations taking part in Source Separated Organics (SSO) diversion to sell finished compost as a fundraiser. It discusses topics including event logistics, the promotion of the program by the Minnesota Waste Wise Foundation, and the promotion of environmental benefits of compost in terms of soil amendment.

The article presents a laboratory study which aims to develop tools to evaluate compost phytotoxicity (CP) conducted at the University of California-Davis. The researchers developed a plant assay model to predict CP depending on its amendment rate, time in the field before planting and stability using sandy loam and potting soils. Results suggest that crop tolerance should be the basis in defining the phytotoxicity threshold.

The article focuses on Puget Sound "Soils for Salmon" program started in Washington State in 1999 and its mission was to promote simple best practices for developers that would rebuild soil health are protecting native soil where possible and restoring construction-disturbed soils with compost amendment. Topics include the organic-amended soils sustain plant life, and the water supply and water quality issues are being increasingly adopted by local governments.

The article discusses the efforts of the Solid Waste Resource Renewal Group (SWRRG) at the Rutgers University Agricultural Experiment station to develop and generate new products from the food waste recycling process. New products include those that could replace items made from oil including soil amendments, fuel for buildings and vehicles, and fertilizers. Topics include creating a regulatory climate that supports recycling and tax credits for recycled/green purchasing. Also discussed is raising awareness about food waste recycling. INSET: FROM MACERATION TO DIGESTION.

The article examines the potential of land applying aerobically digested biosolids to improve the forage and soil quality at disturbed rangelands in the U.S. The author explains that treated municipal sewage sludge or biosolids is a valuable and inexhaustible resource for restoring the vigor of disturbed rangelands. He further claims that biosolids represent a low cost source of organic matter as well as provide buffering capacity when land applied. Moreover, biosolids land application on arid or semi-arid rangelands poses little threat to groundwater resources in areas with adequate groundwater depths.

The article focuses on how Mad River Brewing Company of Blue Lake, California implemented their ten Waste Reduction Awareness Programs thus becoming a zero emissions brewery. Mad River recycles 98 percent of its residuals aiming at generating zero waste. The company calculates that it diverts about 600 tons of materials from landfills annually such as hops and grain, pallets, cardboard, glass, office paper and many others and saves $44,000 in the process while it costs $10,000 annually to divert such materials. Founder Bob Smith said that the by-products including spent barley malt, yeast and spent hops which are given away to farmers, gardeners and homeowners as feeds to local livestock, soil amendment or compost.

The article offers news briefs related to waste recycling industry all over the world. The 23rd Annual West Coast Conference of BioCycle will be held in San Diego, California on April 16 to 18, 2007 which will focus on sustainable solutions. In an effort to raise awareness at schools, Cempre, an association of businesses in Brazil that promotes recycling made a poster for the magazine "Nova Escola" which deals with separate waste collection, industrial recycling and composting. The result of the study on vermicomposting was released in "Compost Science & Utilization" of which reveals that interest in using earthworms for waste management has increased significantly after finding out the ability of earthworms to convert organic wastes into a viable organic soil amendment.

The article reflects on the compost utilization study on green roofs in relation with its effects on the environment. The Center for Green Roof Research at Penn State University uses compost in its media studies and plans to explore microbial communities as it collaborates with horticulturalists, plant physiologists and agricultural engineers. A green roof can be either intensive or extensive based on the degree of maintenance required to grow plants in specially formulated green roof manufactured soils. Furthermore, one of the findings reveal that green roofs mitigate storm water runoff and heat island effects in large metropolitan areas.

The article reflects on the supersized indoor composting facility in Southern California in relation with the biosolids management. Cities and counties in this region have managed biosolids since the promulgation of federal regulations. However, the dynamic has changed radically in a short time due to the inconvenience of the general public. Some of local agencies have adopted strategies for dealing with the new dynamic. These include collaborating on solutions when possible and developing refined products that can be reused within the region to improve soil health.

The article informs that Northern California counties are using compost made from commercial and residential food residuals to grow healthier vines and grapes. The food scraps are collected, composted and sold by subsidiaries of Norcal Waste Systems Inc., a solid waste company headquartered in San Francisco. Norcal's haulers collect about 300 tons of food residuals each day from San Francisco households and 2,330 food-related businesses in San Francisco and Oakland including restaurants, delis, markets, coffee shops, hotels and bakeries.

Reports on the application of compost for erosion control along the U.S. highway in Minnesota. Projects initiated using compost-based erosion control systems; Details on the analysis on the soil composition and recycled waste materials design to fully restore the vegetation over the whole project; Specifications set for composed-based solutions management.

The article focuses on the importance of using digestates in anaerobic digestion (DG) in municipal wastewater treatment. It reports on the involvement of microbes in AD. It discusses the detailed process of AD which involves several steps including hydrolysis, fermentation and methanogenesis. It also highlights the characteristics of digestates which include volatile solids, ammonia, nitrogen and phosphorus.

The article offers information on the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials (AAPFCO), which is an organization of State Department of Agriculture representatives in the U.S. responsible for the creation of regulation and legislation for sales and distribution of fertilizer and soil amendment along with liming agents and pesticides. It discusses several issues discussed the meeting of AAPFCO held in February 2013, that may impact organics recycling industry. INSETS: RELATED DEFINITIONS;LEGAL COMPOST CLAIMS.

The article presents updates related to composting in the U.S. St. Louis Composting Inc. has acquired the Organic Resource Management Inc. (ORMI), a compositing facility in north St. Louis County in Minnesota. Florida Organics Recycling Center for Excellence (FORCE) has opened its second composting pilot in October 2010. The Wilmington Organic Recycling Center (WORC), owned and operated by Peninsula Compost Co. is accredited as Climate Action Reserve's greenhouse gas offsetting program.

The article focuses on the efforts the three compost industries to promote the use of compost in Australia. It features the Compost for Soils programs, by compost producers Jeffries Group, Peats Soil and Garden Supplies, and Van Schaik's Biogro, which educates the consumers about the benefits of using compost though scientific projects. Meanwhile, results of research utilizing screened commercial organic compost in the vegetable, orchard and vineyard markets are also presented.

The article focuses on the use of biosolids from municipal waste water treatment plants as a fertilizer substitute in Alabama. It was stated that producers from the state employed biosolids as fertilizer alternative to address the rising cost of fertilizer. In addition, the introduction of biosolid in 1991, its definition, regulations for biosolid applications, and its advantages are discussed.

The article highlights a report on the new "Quality Protocol for Compost," by Jeremy Jacobs, published in the Summer 2007 issue of "Composting News" based in Great Britain. Jacob notes that the Protocol should be seen as an extension of the existing British Standards Institution's Publicly Available Specification 100 certification scheme. The Protocol does not specify exactly how a composting process must be carried out. Rather, there are a number of requirements that a standard must fulfill before being included, specifically that a compost quality management system be followed that includes Hazard Analysis and Critical Point Assessment.

The article offers information on the works of adding recycle organics to soils and accomplishing the tasks set out for soils. It mentions about plants growing in soil are part of the short-term carbon cycle; and also highlights about release of Carbon dioxide by the annual cycle of growth and decay to be part of the short-term carbon cycle.

The article focuses on the issue of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their implications for composting and anaerobic digestion. Topics discussed include definition of PFAS, sampling for PFAS, research about potential degradation of perfluoroalkyl acids by bacteria in the environment and research on PFAS in composts.

The article investigates the use of compost socks to control root rot symptoms in strawberries by researchers from Maryland. Although many diseases are controlled by soil fumigation, black root rot (BRR) has been observed to aggressively reestablish within several months after initial treatment, particularly in older production fields in the Mid-Atlantic region, where BRR can be a major factor limiting productivity. The results indicate that roots were more symptomatic of BRR and plant cover was reduced in soils without compost compared to those with compost sock treatments.

This article reports some developments in the pilot program implemented by Berea College in Kentucky since 1998. The aim of the program is to compost food residuals to generate an organic soil amendment and demonstrate the feasibility of responsible waste management. The article relates how the program becomes a fundamental part of the College's garden and greenhouse program. It also looks at how the modifications in management made over the years have not only improved utility and efficiency of the composting program, but provided educational and research opportunities to students and the community.

Reports on field trials conducted in Illinois, to examine cost savings from using on-farm generated compost and fewer irrigation cycles to grow crops. Initiation of projects utilizing livestock waste and yard materials; Suitability of soils in the upper Midwest for growing agricultural crops; Increase of plant available water from compost-amended plots. INSET: Compost, And Moisture--When Is A Little As Good As A Lot?.

Reports on the efforts to build a knowledge base for compost tea in the U.S. Farm trials of compost tea in New York; Aim to compare disease control impacts on plants of aerated and non-aerated compost tea applications. INSET: USING COMPOST AND COMPOST TEA....

Focuses on an industry research conducted by EPRI on coal ash applications. Use of coal ash as soil amendments in the horticulture industry; Advantage of coal ash applications in flowable fills; Discussion on the mitigation of ASR-related damage to concrete using the coal ash.

The article discusses the most abundant type of compost in Connecticut. Advantages of large quantities of compost on commercial vegetable production; Experimentation of leaf compost as a nutrient source for field production of butternut squash; Results of the experimentation on the substitution of leaf compost for inorganic fertilizer in butternut squash production and what combination of leaf compost and fertilizer produces the greatest butternut squash.

Describes the biological approach to farming of New Era Farm Services, under the leadership of Ralph Jurgens. Increasing importance of yard trimmings as feedstock for agricultural compost; Major themes of seminars on soil amendment hosted by the company; Other soil fertility products offered by the company. INSETS: Applying compost tea to prevent potato blight, by M.F.;Compost spreading on orchards and vineyards, by J.G..

The article offers information about the family-owned mining company Luck Stone in Richmond, Virginia. It started a new business called the Luck Ecosystems that incorporates by-products from its quarries into amendments and blends for baseball fields, gardens and landscaping, and golf courses. Topics discussed the types of compost used in mixes including yard trimmings, biosolids, and paper mill by-products.

The article discusses the use of green compost or garden waste to produce a health soil and increase of earthworms which is suitable for growing plants. It examines the diversification in farm operations to improve workability in seed-bed preparation. It also cites the economic benefits of garden waste in terms of saving on nitrogen.

In the article, the author offers information on the presence of lead in urban soil that can lead to developmental delays and reduced mental delays in human. Topics discussed include the negative affect of lead in organic recycling where the farmers use compost for soil health and successful gardening, the use of biosolids reducing the risk of elevated lead in soil, and soil amendments with iron or phosphorus helpful for the urban farmers to bind the lead.