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Those little earthworms that many of us put on hooks to snag a bluegill or two on a hot summer day at the farm pond may just

be the saviors for our overworked and chemical ridden farmland.

Jack Chambers proselytizes the benefits of vermiculture – that is earthworm farming and its end product, vermicompost – like a man on a mission.

The owner of Sonoma Valley Worm Farm, Sonoma, California, gave up flying 747s to Europe to get his hands dirty wrangling Eisenia fetida, or red wigglers.

The former Delta captain’s love affair with the tiny creatures began when he decided to buy a couple of gallons for his organic garden. Little did he know he and the squirmy worms would become business partners of a sort.

“I went out to see a guy selling worms from his five-acre worm farm. I ended up helping him around the place and in 1992, I bought the farm when he decided to retire and go fishing,” Chambers recounts.

Chambers was selling worms and their excrement (castings) that makes rich organic compost on a small scale, when he started doing

some research on worms, a difficult task in those pre-internet days, he says.

‘The more I studied worms and their relationship with soil, the more I was amazed at what worms can do for the earth. In 1994 I attended the 5th International Symposium on Earthworm Ecology at Ohio State University and learned even more,” he remembers.

Chambers recalls how he was surprised at a presentation describing and showing in slides, the plant growth benefits to using vermicompost.

As his worm and compost business grew, Chambers continued to meet more people with specific knowledge of soil and worms. He learned that before releasing his worms in cattle manure, pre-composting the manure was a good idea. Pre-composting, Chambers says, helps eliminate pathogens like e-coli from the stock and keeps the manure free from moles and other little critters.

“At first, I just forked manure into the worm beds. But when I learned about the pathogens, I decided to do the pre-composting which led to our design and patent of a continuous vermiculture composter,” Chambers says.

The first step in producing the worm casting-

Vermicomposting Creating Super Soil with Red Wigglers

By Todd Williams

Jack Chambers with the VermiComposters

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enriched compost, according to Chambers, is to put the raw cow manure into the pre-compost system with a timed forced-air blower where it achieves 131-degree temperatures for a minimum of three days to kill off the e-coli. This process ensures the compost achieves a certified organic rating.

Although other types of manure such as horse and chicken can be used in the process, Chambers says he’s had great results with cattle.

“There are organic dairy farms near us, so it is convenient to use that source. I also feel there is something special about the way cattle process food in their digestive system that makes their manure perfect for our process. In addition, we are eliminating a lot of waste manure,” he explains.

The next step in the process, according to Chambers, is putting the pre-composted material in the 80-foot long, five-foot wide worm beds for 60 days. About 10 to 12 million worms thrive very well in the beds, eating the manure and excreting the final compost. About one cubic yard of final product is produced weekly from each worm bed, or about 35,000 pounds per month.

The final compost product is mechanically sliced off from the bottoms of these beds and sold bulk in one to two-yard totes to area farms, orchards and wineries. It is also sold locally in 20-pound bags. In addition, Sonoma Valley Worm Farm is shipping compost nationally and Chambers plans to expand his operation as

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demand for the product outstrips supply.“Our growth,” he adds, “must be realistic

and profitable. I believe the potential for growth in the commercial agriculture market is fantastic. I’m not looking at large scale corn and soybean growers, but rather at vegetable, fruit and nut growers. “

And the worm market, Chambers says, is still an area for growth. On a regular basis, farm staff employs a separator, or a giant rotating disk that pushes worms and compost through a screen to separate the worms from the compost. The worms are sold by the pound and shipped via UPS in northern California at a rate of two to three thousand pounds of worms per year.

And red wigglers, says Chambers, are the ideal worms for his composting endeavors.

“Every worm has its own certain habitat. The red wigglers are perfect for our composting system. They breed very well and eat like crazy and produce plenty of castings,” he notes.

The compost these worms extrude, according to recent research, offers a plethora of benefits for plants. For instance, a North Carolina State University (NCSU) study suggests vermicompost may provide an ecological friendly means of managing pests in vegetable crops.

Funded by a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant, the study finds different insect species respond differently to host plant resistance of brassica

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crops. It also determines that it takes a minimum 20 percent concentration of vermicompost mix in the soil to boost the resistance of host plants against caterpillar and aphid pests.

The level of resistance depends on factors including the origin of the vermicompost, the type of insect involved, what the worms ate, and plant defense mechanisms that have yet to be identified.

Yasmin Cardoza, an entomologist and soil arthropod ecologist and researcher on the project, points to a research paper produced at Ohio State University showing plants grown in soil mixed with different proportions of vermicompost sustaining lower plant damage from insects than those where vermicompost was not applied.

In the NCSU study, Cardoza looks at two species of caterpillar and two aphid species. The brassica plant used in the study was cabbage, which has well-documented chemical defense responses to pests and a wide number of pests with different feeding habits associated with it.

Researchers introduced these insects to plants grown in varying levels of vermicompost as well as plants grown in plain soil to evaluate on which plants the insects prefer to feed.

Results show caterpillars, which specifically feed on cabbage, didn’t perform well or died on

the vermicomposted cabbage. Apparently, says Cardoza, there is a chemical in the plant that has a toxic effect on the insect. It could be organic compounds known as glucosinolates or a novel compound activated in plants grown in a soil-vermicompost mixture.

Cardoza postulates that one potential factor involved in modulating the resistance could be in the microbial community in the vermicompost that can form symbiotic relationships with the plant roots.

With the aphids, researchers find the vermicompost-soil mixture results in plant host defenses that were effective against both winged and wingless insects.

“Winged aphids landed less and produced fewer nymphs on plants grown in soil mixed with vermicompost, which is good news because the vermicompost mix can help reduce colonization by the stage of insect that disperses and is most likely to affect a larger area of crops,” he explains.

Another study, this one at Cornell University, finds that vermicompost does a better job at disease suppression, perhaps because the worm compost is highly uniform.

“The key is understanding why these microbes do what they do. Then, perhaps, the mechanism can be enhanced,” notes Cornell researcher and plant pathologist, Dr. Eric Nelson.

Chambers says he feels that research is proving what he’s always heard – vermicompost makes plants healthier and increases crop yields. In his own organic gardening operation, Chambers used a mere nine percent soil mix combined with a tea brewed from the vermicompost and found that his tomato plants were healthier and produced more and tastier fruit.

The farms, vineyards and olive groves that purchase Sonoma Valley Worm Farm vermicompost, according to Chambers, similarly report healthier, larger plants with higher yields and better tasting crops.

Also, Chambers says vermicompost may be the key to reducing decades of chemical soil pollution in commercial farming. Although it will be hard to entirely eliminate chemical farming, Chamber believes by using vermicompost a 50 percent reduction in chemical use can be achieved.

He adamantly calls for the “inoculation” of the soil with high quality organic material.

“For years we did organic farming in this country. Then the chemical industry starting selling to farmers and that became so-called conventional farming. But I believe we are coming to the end game of the era of chemical farming. We need to return the biology to the soil. The soil is alive with microbes and we need to treat it as such,” Chambers concludes.

Continued from page 3

Vermicomposting - Creating Super Soil with Red Wigglers


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Right Time and Place Help Composting Operations Succeed

PLATTSMOUTH, NE—Opposition from residents which prevented a Nebraska compost operator from expanding its facility has also inspired a compromise by the operator in the form of a scaled-down pilot program,

according to a Lincoln Star article on FremontTribune.com.Earlier this spring, Gretna Sanitation Inc. submitted a request to accept

as much as 70,000 cubic yards of public school food waste and to increase its compost facility’s size from five to nearly 20 acres. Neighboring residents crowded into a public hearing to oppose the permit, saying that it would discourage tourism and future development of the scenic area along the Platte River. Gretna runs a composting facility nearby high-revenue tourist attractions including Wildlife Safari Park. Residents also point out that the facility is not far from Eugene T. Mahoney State Park and the Strategic Air and Space Museum.

In a change of strategy, Gretna submitted another proposal, which entails a conditional use permit with an amended application for a one-year pilot food waste recycling project. The pilot plant would be built on the company’s existing five acres and would accept 1,000 cubic yards of food waste, a mere fraction of the original plan. A public hearing is pending.

The County Board approved a zoning change to allow composting operations ranging in size from five to 20 acres to be built on agricultural land. The zoning prohibits such large operations on land zoned recreational/agricultural. Since no zoning change was made to allow “edible materials” in recreational agricultural composting operations, another zoning adjustment needs to be made before Gretna’s amended permit request (to add fruits and vegetables into the compost mix) will be considered.

Gretna’s facility is located in a quarry, land which the owner says is ideal for the company’s composting operations.

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Soil & Mulch Producer NEWSDrought Conditions Continue – US West Braces for Fire Season

BOISE, ID—The United States has had the lowest number of wildfires in 10 years so far, but analysts say that may change as the summer unfolds, according to an article on USAToday.com.

Drought conditions in most of Arizona, New Mexico, California and Oregon, and certain areas of Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Utah and Washington indicate a busy year for firefighting is still ahead.

Wildland fire analyst Jeremy Sullens of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise notes that the 14,000 fires so far this year are about half the ten-year average. Usually, by the beginning of summer, some 823,000 acres have burned. In California, fire season has been early, with more than 600 fires charring 1200 acres, twice the average in past years.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) are preparing by getting the word out to land and home owners in close proximity to wildland areas.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, wildfires destroy about 1,200 homes each year in the USA.

Cedar Tree Removal Proposed as a Fire Deterrent

OKLAMOMA CITY, OK—The ever-present Red Cedar tree will soon be no more in these parts, thanks to a solution introduced by an Oklahoma County Commissioner, according to a news report on

koco.com. County Commissioner, Brian Maughan, has spearheaded a program to

remove the highly flammable trees as a way of preventing the raging fires that have consumed dozens of homes in the metropolitan area.

Conservationists brought Red cedar trees to Oklahoma in the 1930s, seeing the species as a solution to soil erosion. The trees, while serving as effective wind blocks, can wick about 40 gallons of water each day from the soil. They catch fire quickly and this has contributed to wildfires.

“It’s very dangerous for our firefighters trying to put out a fire near or around where these are,” Maughan said.

The eradication program calls for removing 1,000 red cedar trees per week from private and public properties. The trees will be turned into mulch and sold to offset the cost of the removal program.

Moore, Oklahoma Tornado Debris Gets Sorted, Recycled

MOORE, OK—A good portion of the debris left by May 2013 tornado that swept violently through Oklahoma will be recycled, according to a news article on Huffingtonpost.com.

While crews with machines continue to demolish buildings, others hand sort heaps for recyclable materials. Bricks are being donated to charity projects such as Habitat for Humanity; wood, paper and clothing will be incinerated.

“The Oklahoma Department of Transportation brought in 400 of its workers and 250 pieces of equipment, including dump trucks and front-end loaders, to help with the process,” said Transportation Secretary Gary Ridley.

Wood, paper and clothing will be placed in a “burner box,” a device that uses its own scraps to generate heat to the point that it eventually consumes itself. Hazardous material will likely go out of state.

Funding for the cleanup is coming from a federal pilot program that pays for 85 percent of debris removal costs for the first 30 days and 80 percent for the next 60 days.

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Gene Sequencing Benefits Represent Future Dollars

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA—A joint Canadian and Swedish study of white spruce and Norway spruce genetics may help ensure the long-term health and value of these species, according to an article

on VancouverSun.com. Co-author of the studies is University of B.C. Prof. Joerg Bohlmann,

who thinks the findings may generate economic and ecological solutions. By decoding the gene sequences of the conifers, the scientists will be able to speed up the growth and breeding cycles of the trees, as well as improve the tree stock, he believes. Insect resistance, wood quality and adaptability to climate change are some of the goals the researchers have in mind.

“Scientists in B.C. and Quebec are already starting to use the genetic code of these trees to accelerate their programs, because of these studies,” Prof. Steven Jones, senior author of the white spruce genome study and head of Bioinformatics at the B.C. Cancer Agency Genome Sciences Centre (GSC) says. Jones is a professor at both UBC and Simon Fraser University.

The third co-author, Prof. John Mackay of Université Laval, says that a genome-based marker system could reduce the time of the spruce breeding cycle from today’s 25 years to as little as five years, and “thus contribute directly to the competitiveness of the Canadian and Scandinavian forest industry.”

With climate change as a major concern, knowing certain traits, such as draught tolerance, can help scientists identify certain markers in the species which will, in turn, help foresters, plan accordingly.

Canada’s forestry industry accounted for $23.7 billion of Canada’s economy in 2011. Gross revenues for Sweden’s forestry sector were $29.7 billion in 2009.

In the science world, particularly in the field of bioinformatics, the two studies are significant because scientists were able to complete the largest genome sequence assemblies to date. They had to decode 20-30 billion base-pairs, which is nearly 10 times larger than the human genome. This promise of this type of research was proven previously with the decoding of the mountain pine beetle genome. The insect has ravaged millions of hectares of British Columbia’s lodge pole pine forests.

NYC Launches Food Scrap Recycling Challenge

NEW YORK CITY, NY—A SustainableBusiness.com article reports that more than 100 restaurants will participate in New York City’s Food Waste Challenge. Chipotle, Union Square, Juice

Generation, Blue Hill and Clearver Co. are among those who have signed onto the program, which calls for cutting their food waste by half and reducing NYC’s carbon footprint.

New York’s climate change target, set in 2007, is to cut greenhouse gas emissions 31% by 2017 - since 2007. Although its emission levels are down 17% from what they were in 2005, New York recycles only about 15 percent of its waste and it trails far behind cities like San Francisco, which recycles 80 percent. Mayor Bloomberg wants to see a 30 percent solid waste reduction by 2017. Aggressive strategies are needed to meet the city’s goal of diverting 75 percent of all solid waste to landfills by 2030.

About a third of the waste NYC sends to landfills is organic, with more than 70% of it generated by restaurants. Much of the city’s waste is trucked out of state at an annual rate of $600,000. Another part of the strategy is residential food waste recycling. Staten Island is beginning curbside food scrap collection this summer, and the program will be expanded to institutions -- all public schools over the next two years.

Advanced Mapping Technology Helps Foresters

ALBERTA, CANADA –Forecasting for foresters has just gotten easier with the help of advanced mapping technology, according to an article on eSciencenews.com.

The maps are part of a University of Alberta study, which models multiple potential climate scenarios across western North America. The maps project climatically suitable habitats for commercially logged species and are already being used by the timber industry and government foresters.

The maps were developed by Laura Gray, a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Renewable Resources at the U of A. The research, which was recently published in the journal Climatic Change, and is the first large-scale study of its type, predicts precipitation and temperature conditions for the 2020s, 2050s and 2080s.

Diminishing the “surprises” brought by climate change is crucial for reforesting the province’s more than 50,000 acres. The maps help government agencies and Alberta companies more effectively manage their investment risk by guiding them in selecting the species most likely to survive. More than 80 million spruce, fir and pine seedlings are planted each year.

The models include geographic and weather data for the past 40 years, a focus on 15 major commercial tree species and 18 different future climate-change scenarios.

The study was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Alberta Forestry Research Institute, and industry partners Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries, Ainsworth Engineered Canada LP, Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd., Western Boreal Aspen Corporation and Weyerhaeuser Company Ltd.

American and Chinese Scientists Collaborate on Composting Project

ITHACA, NY—A joint U.S./China agricultural collaboration got underway when Cornell University scientists teamed up with Chinese researchers (one of whom is a Cornell graduate) to conduct a three-year composting

project in an arid region of China, according to News.Cornell.edu.The study, funded by a $450,000 USDA grant, was designed to explore

the best way to restore depleted agricultural land in the Ningxia region of northwest China. The scientists found a rather simple solution: wood chips and compost.

The research is being done at the Ningxia Forestry Institute’s State Key Laboratory of Seedling Bioengineering. The scientists chose to source the wood chips from the white poplar tree (Populous alba) because it is abundant throughout China and is known for its moisture-retaining properties.

“In Ningxia, China, rainfall is less than 150 mm (almost 6 inches) per year, and farmers and homeowners irrigate every single plant in order to make it grow in the sandy soils,” says Rebecca Schneider, associate professor of natural resources at Cornell and lead investigator of the study.

Next steps include introducing feedstock alternatives to compare effectiveness and then conducting public awareness and education programs to help raise awareness and establish composting practices.

European Mapping Project Locates and Tracks Ground Contaminants

ISLE OF MAN, UK—An EU-funded mapping project is underway to establish locations and migration of industrial contaminants throughout Europe, reports an article on Phys.org, the Omicron Technology Limited

news service. The SoilCAM project is documenting just where contaminants, such as

mineral oil, chlorinated hydrocarbons and heavy metals, are present in the soil and ground water across Europe. EU scientists are now able to examine the physical, chemical and biological behavior of contaminants and say they will be able to use the methodologies in future bioremediation programs, as well as study geo-chemical processes of the course of years.

The SoilCAM technology allows scientists to map contaminant distribution and follow its development in the ground


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Ohio Correctional Facilities Go Green with Composting

LANCASTER, OH—ColumbusDispatch.com reports that an Ohio prison is saving over $200K annually in waste pick-up costs.

In a time of institutional cutbacks, creative thinking and outreach is plain smart. The community service group, Rural Action, helped spearhead a networking opportunity to link up with food-waste producers, haulers and compost-makers to launch institutional composting in a big way. Among those involved are state prison system administrators, Ohio University, local school districts, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Grocers Foundation (the philanthropic arm of the 400-member statewide grocers’ association).

Southeastern Correctional Complex, which houses about 1,950 inmates in two prisons near Lancaster and Nelsonville, began composting all its food scraps, saving $95,000 annually on trash hauling fees and an additional $40,000 on trash bags.

Kitchen staffs at the complex separate food scraps from dining halls and dormitories. The scraps are then mixed with wood chips and cow manure on the sprawling prison grounds, which includes 850 acres farmland and a livestock operation with 600 head of cattle that supplies meat for the inmates.

Connecting large food-scrap generators with haulers and composting businesses often is the lynchpin for successful programs because it makes economies of scale possible. It can also lead to business alliances. For example, at Ohio Mulch’s Delaware County site, Kroger food scraps are turned into a compost product called Green Envy, which is sold in both Ohio Mulch and Kroger stores.

Colorado Company Offers Biofuel Energy Solution from Dead Trees

DENVER, CO—Dead or dying pine trees could provide fuel for a gasification operation in Colorado, an article on denverPost.com reports.

This forest waste is looking “green” to one power company that has filed for permits from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. In its application, Xcel outlines a plan for a pilot plant that would convert dead trees and wood waste to gas for fueling turbines that generate electricity. The location of the plant has not been decided upon as yet. Company officials say the decision would be up to the bid-winning contractor, but it possibly would be located alongside a lumber mill. As part of its proposal, Xcel proposes to purchase up to two megawatts of generation for 10 years. Two megawatts serves the electricity needs of about 1,500 homes.

Fuel from the trees killed by the pine bark beetle and drought has been discussed among foresters and wood production industry for a while. One big obstacle has been the challenge of gaining access to the blighted forests, either because some of them exist within or adjacent to park lands, or the terrain makes logging difficult and expensive. More than 6.6 million acres of Colorado forest have succumbed to beetle kill.

The U.S. Forest Service wants to see how well biomass works for heat and electricity and is providing funding through its Woody Biomass Utilization Grant Program.

In another application for biomass, ethanol producer Front Range Energy in Windsor has successfully tested a new process to make ethanol from woody biomass. The facility plans to begin commercial production next year.

Attention: ReAdeRs! Would you like more information about products and equipment advertised in this issue? If so, please complete the Equipment Locator Service form located between pages 10 & 11 and fax to 440-257-6459.


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www.colorbiotics.com

Info Request #116

Colorbiotics and the Colorbiotics logo are trademarks of Becker Underwood in the U.S. and / or other countries.© 2013 Colorbiotics. All Rights Reserved.

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Horizontal Grinders Just Became Affordable

www.raycomfg.com : 800.392.2686

D i s p o s e o f w a s t e w o o d w i t h o u t b r e a k i n g t h e b a n k ! R AY C O ’ s n e w l i n e o f c o m -p a c t , h o r i z o n t a l g r i n d e r s c r e a t e s a n a f f o r d a b l e s o l u t i o n t o y o u r w a s t e - w o o d n e e d s . T h e h i g h l y p r o d u c t i v e R H 1 7 5 4 i n t r o d u c e s a n e w c l a s s o f c o m p a c t h o r i z o n t a l g r i n d e r s t h a t a r e t r u l y m o b i l e , c o m p a c t m a c h i n e s d e s i g n e d t o g r i n d p a l l e t s , g r e e n - w a s t e , l u m b e r s c r a p s , c o n s t r u c t i o n d e b r i s , a n d s a w m i l l w a s t e w h i l e m i n i m i z i n g t h e e x p e n s e a n d h a s s l e o f l a r g e u n i t s . F i n a l l y … t h e r e i s a h o r i z o n t a l g r i n d e r w i t h i n r e a c h o f t h e s m a l l c o n t r a c t o r . C o n t a c t y o u r a u t h o r i z e d R AY C O d e a l e r f o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n o r c a l l 8 0 0 . 3 9 2 . 2 6 8 6 f o r a d e a l e r n e a r y o u .

pantone

485

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Info Request #160

Duff Brush, LLCManufacturer of Trommel Brushes

Matt Duffrin/Kim Duffrin

630 7th Street • P.O. Box 34 • Menominee, MI 49858Phone: 1-877-863-3319 • Fax: 906-863-3319www.duffbrush.com • [email protected]




























Info Request #178

Composting Seen as Profitable for Maryland

WASHINGTON, DC—Composting represents a strong revenue stream and a bright spot in the jobs creation picture for Maryland, according to an article on MontgomeryVillagePatch.com. The news announcement comes at the conclusion of a

study by the Washington, D.C-based Institute for Local Self Reliance.Pay Dirt: Composting in Maryland to Reduce Waste, Create Jobs, & Protect the Bay presents

data on Maryland’s potential for recycling food scraps and yard waste, putting to good use an annual estimated 780,000 tons that has been going to landfills. And the number of jobs composting enterprises create could be significant – and well paying. Composting facility workers could make up to $20 an hour, the study says.

“We have to stay focused on both job creation and protecting the environment. Composting marries the two perfectly,” said State Assemblywoman, Heather Mizeur in a statement about the report.

“We’ll continue to reduce regulatory burdens and confusion so businesses know their composting operations are engines of the green economy and are welcomed here in Maryland.”

Current composting activity in Maryland range from backyard DIY composting using government-provided bins to pilot programs that include curbside pick-up.

Reduction in consumption – that is, not throwing out so much – is another concept that sustainability proponents want to see promoted in the state.

Oil & Gas Groups Say US Forest Service Drilling Regs Impose New Limits

ASPEN, CO —TheRepublic.com reports an Aspen Times article about the contentious situation developing between several oil

and gas industry trade groups and the US Forest Service. The groups filed complaints over the US Forest Service’s updating of its 1993 rules, effectively banning leases in nearly two million acres of the 2.27-million-acre White River National Forest. Specifically, they object to the Forest Service’s overhaul of existing well leases and restrictions on new drilling and are calling for the agency to come up with an alternative that balances oil and natural gas development with natural resource conservation. The Forest Service plan leaves about 260,000 acres open for leasing.

“There is no alternative that allows for reasonable oil and natural gas development to take place in the White River National Forest and the only difference among the alternatives is the level of restrictions imposed on development,” the Western Energy Alliance of Denver; Public Land Advocacy, of Aurora; and Western Slope Oil and Gas Association of Grand Junction say in their official complaint.

The Forest Service plan also could affect management of public lands in the Thompson Divide area of central Colorado, where conservationists and oil companies are in deep disagreement over drilling. The agency is considering restrictions on facilities that can be built on the surface.

The Forest Service will make its decision on the rules next year after the review phase is complete.

Info Request #179

http://www.raycomfg.com

http://www.duffbrush.com



Info Request #129

Compost and Mulch Conquered.

www.DoppstadtMulch.com 440-937-3225

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Pro

file

s New Model Added to McCloskey International’s 516 Trommel Line

McCloskey, Intl. has introduced the 516RT, a highly

mobile, high performance tracked trommel ideal for processing a number of materials across applications.

With a weight of 22,500 kgs, the 516RT boasts a heavy duty chassis with four independent stabilizer jack legs, integrated hydraulic folding conveyors and a radial conveyor with 180° swing that delivers 13’6” (4.13m) stockpile height. Powered by a CAT C4.4 100 Hp engine, the 516RT features an over-sized hydraulic tank and hydraulic oil cooler for maximum cooling capacity and high efficiency throughout the hydraulic system.

With the 5’ x 16’ screening surface, material such as topsoil, compost, sand and gravel, and wood products spend more time in the drum for better results. The three screen sections allow for flexibility in sizing to maximize productivity, and for heavy duty applications, a remote control hydraulic tipping grizzly can be added to scalp off large material. Ground adjustable brushes on the 516RT keep the screen clean and rotate away from the drum for ease of drum change. With additional options like a radio remote control for tracks, a variety of drum and screen combinations, and a hydraulic tipping grid, the 516RT is a highly productive and highly mobile trommel.

For more information contact Julie Andras at 705-295-4925 or [email protected] or

visit www.mccloskeyinternational.com.

Rayco Introduces Their RH1754 Track Horizontal Grinder

The only thing better than a compac t

horizontal grinder i s a c o m p a c t horizontal grinder on tracks!

Rayco’s RH1754 Horizontal Grinder is now available in a self-propelled version that rides on a heavy-duty, steel track undercarriage. This adds another element of versatility to the RH1754, making it easier to move the machine around job sites and to perform tasks like windrowing material or sorting material into different piles.

The 240hp, RH1754-240 on tracks weighs just 20,500lbs and is just under 8-ft wide, to avoid permits when trailering. A wireless radio remote operates each track independently, to provide precise control and two speed final drives allow for creep speed or high speed travel.

The RH1754 is an economical solution for producing high quality mulch from a variety of wood waste materials, pallets, wood chips, etc.

For more details, visit www.raycomfg.com or call 800-392-2686.

Screen Machine’s 612T Trommel Screening Plant Processes Compost and Topsoil

Screen Machine I n d u s t r i e s , I n c . r e c e n t l y

introduced their U.S. made 612T Portable Trommel Screening Plant, that is ideal for processing topsoil, compost, green waste or mulch, and is designed to accommodate a 1 to 3 cubic yard (.76-2.29 cu. m) front end loader.

The 612T ‘s unique design includes a Yanmar® 84 HP (62.6 kw) Tier III Diesel Engine with electronic throttle, USA Sourced Grade 80 steel unibody frame that is robotically precision-welded and a 6’ x 12’ (1.8m x 3.6m) trommel drum that gives you 226 cubic feet (48.7m) of trommel drum surface area. This unit also has a unique cable/hinge lock design that facilitates quick screen replacement and maintenance.

The 612T also has a large capacity, unrestricted hopper with low feed height; self-cleaning brushes that maintain efficient screen processing performance; and a 70 gallon fuel tank that equates to 16+ hours of continuous run-time between re-fueling.

For additional information on Screen Machine Industries, Inc., visit our website www.screenmachine.com, call us at 800-837-3344 or email us at [email protected].

Warren & Baerg Introduces the Model MSB6-20-O Metering-Surge Bin for Biomass Materials

Warren & Baerg’s new Metering-Surge Bin (Model MSB6-20-O)

is designed for agricultural, biomass and waste Industry applications; enabling users to load fibrous materials with the use of a front-end loader.

The Model MSB6-20-O delivers a consistent, positive, and even flow of material for various applications, providing cost-effective metering of shredded or ground wood material, stover, grasses, paper, cardboard, plastics, carpet and other similar materials, from low rates to well over 100 tph.

The Model MSB6-20-O can be built with straight side walls, or with flared front and back walls for additional capacity and loading room. The flared back is gusseted and supported. There are two doffers up front and a V-Level rake before the top doffer. Depending on the out-flow tonnage required, the floor drive motors are 2 horsepower or less and 7.5 hp or less on each doffer. The differences between this bin and existing models is its access opening for loading with a front-end loader, flared sides for more capacity and loading room, and it provides higher discharge flow rates.

For more information contact Warren & Baerg at 559-591-6790 or email to [email protected]

or visit our website at www.warrenbaerg.com.


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Info Request #166

TERMS UP TO 7 YEARS RATES AS LOW AS 0%

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Call one of our ClearSpan specialists at 1.866.643.1010 or visit us at www.ClearSpan.com/ADSMPN.

Info Request #105

www.screenusa.net [email protected]

Taiwan Farmers Boost Productivity with Compost

TAIPEI, TAIWAN—According to a report on FocusTaiwan.tw, researchers in that country have found a way to recycle fiber

residue from rice and sugar cane crops and turn it into a growing medium for highly marketable, gourmet and medicinal varieties of mushrooms. White, Blewit, Shaggy, Brazil and Oyster mushrooms have thrived in the rich compost.

By using indoor tunnel composting methods, scientists at the Taiwan Agriculture Research Institute have increased mushroom production 20 – 30 percent. Feedstock for the compost comes from rice straw and bagasse (residue leftover after sugarcane or sorghum is processed), both of which historically have been considered agricultural waste.

For years, farmers have burned millions of tons of this fiber annually, a practice that has contributed to air pollution. Now, composting it using the most up-to-date methods has proven both efficient and highly effective.

Taiwan produces 140,000 tons of mushrooms per year, generating NT$8.8 billion (US$294.64 million), according to the Institute.

Planning Takes Priority for Compost Facility Locations in Oregon

PORTLAND, OR—Public outcry over food-waste composting in Oregon has sparked a closer look by State legislators into how

such facilities receive land use permits, and this has lead to new requirements, according to an article on OregonLive.com.

Senate Bill 462 requires community and local government meetings before facilities can receive the go ahead and makes an exception for composting facilities located in exclusive farm use zones. Largely in response to food waste composting that began at a facility in close proximity to a residential area just outside Portland, the bill’s intent is to make the approval process transparent to both citizens and government agencies, such as the Department of Environmental Quality. The companies will be responsible for calling and holding public hearings.

Lawmakers say it’s crucial to include residents early on, but soliciting input from all other stakeholders, such as agriculture, land use groups, municipalities and the state Department of Environmental Quality, is hoped to nurture, rather than discourage this new industry.

The North Plains composting facility outside Portland that has been operated by Nature’s Needs, generated negative publicity for its owner, the refuse corporation, Recology. Curbside food scrap collection begun in Portland was to supply the facility’s expanded composting operation with feedstock, but neighbor complaints caused Washington County Commissioners to impose a ban.

Recology responded by diverting the scraps to another site out of state and paying for the installation of an odor monitor. Despite exceeding industry standards for odors resident complaints continued and, as other facilities were being considered throughout the state, legislators were motivated to take a closer look at the land use approval process and food waste composting in general.

Meanwhile, OregonLive reports that Portland City officials have announced a 37 percent reduction in garbage going to Portland’s landfill. The reduction is the result of residents’ acceptance and participation in a composting program launched a year and a half ago.

More than 120,000 tons of yard and food scrap has been diverted from the landfill, thus far. City Officials say they will pass along the savings composting has reaped to residents in the form of a modest reduction on their trash pick-up bills. Residents with 60 gallon carts that are picked up weekly and those with 35 gallon carts picked up monthly will see $1.40 reductions on their bills. Other collection plans will see something between a dime and a dollar worth of savings on bills.

http://www.ClearSpan.com/ADSMPN

http://www.screenusa.net




Info Request #164

Lumber Futures and Stock Prices Move Up

NEW YORK, NY—CIBC World Markets analysts forecast the highest lumber prices in two decades and the market outlook is shaping up, reports a news article on Bloomberg.com. The brightening picture is

encouraging for forestry companies, investors, workers and entire communities who have weathered the storm of revenue and job losses, mill closings and pine beetle devastation since the global recession.

Wood Demand on the Way Back Up

Homebuilding leaped forward after a five-year lull in the United States, partly as a result of post-Sandy and other storm repairs and construction.

Yet even if U.S. housing starts doubled they would still be below the peak they reached in 2006, Commerce Department data show.

Meanwhile, the expanding Chinese economy continues to boost lumber revenues – 9.8 percent higher than last November. The Chinese have been erecting more than 15 million housing units a year, mostly multi-unit structures, but they use lumber mostly for scaffolding and masonry forms. The Chinese government is putting brakes on this growth, however, by imposing limits on new construction and raising mortgage down payment requirements.

Russian companies have made forays into the Chinese market, too, with cedar and pine lumber, boosting Russian lumber sales. The Chinese continue to source most of their wood from North America, though, according to Garrett Soden, the chief executive officer of RusForest AB (RUSF), a Stockholm-based producer which harvests timber and runs sawmills in Russia. RusForest is diverting “as much as possible” of its Siberian production from its traditional markets in the Middle East and Africa to customers in China and Japan, Soden said.

With Canada as the biggest wood products supplier to the world, these developments have forestry companies bustling. Futures are expected to average $371 per 1,000 board feet on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange by the end of this year according to Bloomberg analysts. November futures, the only CME contract expiring in the fourth quarter, fell 2 percent to $338 this year.

Paul Jannke, an analyst at Forest Economic Advisors LLC, an industry consultant in Westford, Massachusetts believe homebuilders “don’t need to be building significantly more houses to meet demand.” He expects lumber futures to average $320 in the fourth quarter.

Lumber surged 44 percent in 2012, the most since 1993. About 55.5 billion of the industry’s standard board feet will be made this year, 6.7 percent more than in 2012.

Investment Picture Rosy

Lumber prices have nowhere to go but up because output is not keeping pace with demand. David Elstone, an analyst at ERA Forest Products Research

in Gibsons, British Columbia notes that Canadian output fell to 23.7 billion board feet last year from a peak of almost 36 billion in 2004. Supply won’t reach that level any time soon, he said.

Stock prices of forestry companies are appreciating, and dramatically so, in some cases. Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY), which manages 20.3 million acres of timberland in North America, is headed for a 72 percent jump in profit this year, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg analysts. Shares of Ainsworth Lumber (ANS) Co., which harvests and replants forests across three Canadian provinces and Federal Way, Washington-based Weyerhaeuser, which also manages timberland in Uruguay, are all steadily climbing.

Mills Gear Back Up

Another indicator supporting higher prices for the near future is pent-up demand and short supply of Canadian lumber. Aggressive global marketing

has whipped up interest in Canadian wood, yet producers didn’t build up enough logs in the fall. And, with the delay of at least a year in starting up idled mills, buyers will accept higher prices to secure the supplies they need.

Overall, the numbers represent a healthier wood products industry – with highest fourth quarter prices projected since 1996.

[email protected]

1-800-837-3344

Screen It Yourself!An American Manufacturer of Trommels & Screening Plants

Affordable topsoil/compost screening machinery capable of processingup to 150 cu. yards an hour! 0% Financing available.

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www.hamerinc.com

Info Request #107

MODEL 2090/300VF• Fast 28-30 BPM production rates• 50% fewer wear parts• Easy to operate, less adjustments• Consolidated operator controls

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InsIde ThIs IssueVermicomposting - Creating Super Soil

with Red WigglersPage 1

Cedar Tree Removal as a Fire DeterrentPage 8

NYC Launches Food Scrap Recycling ChallengePage 10

Colorado Company Offers Biofuel Energy Solution from Dead Trees

Page 12

Oil & Gas Groups Say US Forest Service Drilling Regs Impose New Limits

Page 14

Planning Takes Priority for Compost Facility Locations in Oregon

Page 17

Lumber Futures and Stock Prices Move UpPage 18

PRSRT STDU.S. Postage

PAIDMentor, OH

PerMIt No. 2

6075 Hopkins Road • Mentor, OH 44060

Ph: 440-257-6453 • Fax: 440-257-6459Email: [email protected]

VoL. VII No. 3 May /JuN 2013

[email protected]

Info Request #151


http://www.westsalem.com


vermicomposting - soil and mulch producer news

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