Composting is the naturally occurring biological decomposition of organic materials. Microorganisms and invertebrates — the decomposers — take in waste for energy. These tiny creatures also require the right amount of oxygen and moisture and the proper temperature. In on-farm composting, natural decomposition is accelerated.

Some farmers receiving SARE grants have decided that completing their "webs of life" through various composting methods has high rewards and low costs.

In four to six weeks, Rissman cleans out his barn and moves the composting waste to a compost pad, piling the manure 4 to 5 feet high and 10 feet wide. Rissman built a flat 6-inch limestone pad on a compacted clay surface, which gently slopes to a rentention pond.

"It is best to let your pad go unused for at least a year before composting, allowing the ground to settle," Rissman added. "Trying to use the pad too soon could cause rutting."

The carbon to nitrogen ratio should be approximately 25-35:1, respectively. If carbon source is too high, composting will be slowed; if carbon is low, valuable nitrogen will be lost to leaching or volatilization.

The retention pond on the Rissman farm collects any runoff from his feedlot, and water from the pond is used to add moisture to the compost. Balancing water and oxygen is important; too little or too much of either and composting will be slow with nutrients lost. When a handful of compost is squeezed, it should feel like a wrung-out sponge.

Rissman must also monitor temperature and turn the pile. Turning compost will speed the process by infusing oxygen and decreasing temperature. Compost turners are useful in this process, but not essential. Farmers can also use front-end loaders or manure spreaders.

Hart went from very little knowledge of composting to developing a video to teach others, adding, "It doesn’t take much at all to start experimenting with compost."

He constructed a free-standing pole structure with a concrete floor and six bins accessible from three sides. A roof guards compost from the weather and flies. Hart’s design also protects water quality by reducing runoff. In his video, Mark shares an equation to determine the appropriate size for compost structures.

Hart adds 6 to 12 inches of turkey starter little to his compost pad, with 50 to 60 percent moisture content. After adding his turkey mortalities and recording weight of the birds, he adds water if necessary. (If needed, producers could also add a 4 to 6 inch layer of straw at this time.) Next Hart dumps a layer of compost mix and then 2 to 3 more inches of dry litter, a natural fly deterrent.

Hart spends about 15 minutes per day managing the pile by checking temperature and turning it, and two weeks later -- voila! -- dead birds submit to bacteria, with almost no evidence of bones.

"Composting is pretty simple once you get it right," said Michigan farmer Joe Slater. He and Bob Wackernagel, another Michigan farmer, cooperated on a 1994 SARE grant to compost dairy manure on two separate farms.

"Information about composting came to our attention in 1992-93 through NRCS (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) and Extension," said Wackernagel, who recruited the help of NRCS conservationist Greg Mund. "After months of reading, talking to other composters and attending field days, it was a very appealing answer to manure management. Composting offers a lot of flexibility and an economical solution that any size livestock operation can implement."

Wackernagel overfills his cow free stalls with sawdust, allowing cows to compost as they back out and mix sawdust with manure in the alleys. Some scientists recommend using 10 to 15 pounds of bedding (straw, sawdust, old hay, cornstalks, newsprint, etc.) per cow per day in a deep litter barn or 8 to 10 pounds in a stanchion barn.

Wackernagel then spreads the manure with a side discharge spreader into a windrow 8 feet wide by 3.5 feet high by 200 feet long. Through his first summer, Wackernagel composted 100 percent of his dairy cow manure. He added more windrows and turned the piles generally every four days as the compost temperature reached 140º F. His tractor-driven turner, purchased cooperatively with Slater, mixes compost, exhausts carbon dioxide, and allows oxygen to prolong the process.

Slater’s composting setup is similar. He stacks manure in a temporary storage area before building windrows on sloping ground, where runoff flows directly to his fields as a nutrient. Compost piles are covered with geotextile blankets to shed rainfall and keep temperatures uniform.

The project managed by Joe Slater and Bob Wackernagel also included FFA members.

"The FFA kids turn the compost piles and receive about one-third of Bob’s compost to sell. I’m really impressed with their initiative and interest. It’s given the kids great experience in running a business."

In conjunction with his local conservation district, Slater is now managing a second SARE producer grant to involve young people and better market his compost. With FFA members, Slater established a management service to assure product consistency and continue scientific research of the composting process while developing local and regional markets for the finished product.

Goebel, a former high school science teacher, said composting, and other farm experiences, are great ways to instruct young people about science and nature, adding, "Farming is a great way of teaching."

This year marks the eighth cycle of producer grants awarded by NCR-SARE. A total of $250,000 is available for grants of up to $5,000 for individual producers and up to $15,000 for groups of three or more producers investigating any sustainable practice or concept.

Additional funding specifically earmarked for agroforestry projects is also available as a result of a USDA National Agroforestry Center initiative.

"Producers know best how to make their operations more sustainable, and many producers will have to make changes this year to remain competitive," said Ken Schneider, former farmer/rancher and NCR-SARE’s producer liaison. "Funds from this program are available to assist farmers and ranchers who want to implement innovative practices to help generate more income and share that information with other producers."

Nearly 250 producer projects in 12 North Central states have been awarded at a total of more than $1 million since 1992. Projects cover a variety of topics, such as reducing off-farm inputs, testing technologies, improving water quality, educating young people or consumers about agriculture, managing weeds and pests, recycling wastes and creating viable markets for sustainable products, among a host of other issues.

North Central SARE would like to help by inviting you to a practical conference on developing agricultural marketing skills for the new millennium. The meeting will be held in Lincoln, Neb. on November 19-20, 1999. With inspirational speakers, intensive workshops, networking opportunities, plenty of take-home information, and a sustainably produced luncheon, the conference promises to provide a variety of farmers and ranchers with skills to successfully market products. We also invite educators working with farmers and others interested in marketing issues.

We are looking for expert marketers interested in sharing information through posters, presentations, and workshops. What can you offer our regional farmers and ranchers about your marketing experiences?

Through surveying more than 600 producers, Michigan State University researchers found that since the inception of the Producer Grant Program in 1992, nearly 21,000 people attended 803 farmer events, while 1,255 people were reached through individual contact with grant recipients.

Projects funded through this program also resulted in 233 media articles. The team found that for each grant, an average of 12 farmers have been inspired, followed the ideas, or outright adopted the technologies being tested in a funded project.

"It’s really impressive to look at all of the people touched by these small grants," said Ken Schneider, NC SARE’s producer liaison. "We think the Producer Grant Program has made an impact in the agricultural community."

A North Central SARE Administrative Council committee met recently to review farmer/rancher response in the survey and make recommendations to the Council on improving the program for producers.

The committee will suggest that the Council: create print or electronic materials to help producers fill out grants, have field days, collect data, and complete other grant tasks; fund group projects for up to two years; assess the value of grants to groups of farmers versus grants to individual farmers; compile abstracts from producer grants that would be widely available to farmers and others; compile data from individual producers’ evaluation of the SARE program and their grant to gauge program impacts; and pitch more SARE producer stories to the media.

The site features a monthly newsletter, publications, a bibliography, and a schedule of national and regional conferences and workshops, among other useful features and links.

Shot on location throughout the world, including Pennsylvania and Iowa, the programs examine the consequences of human tampering with the environment and introduce viewers to the drama of people who are developing practical and realistic solutions which balance the needs of the environment with those of its human inhabitants.

Airing Tuesday, April 13, part two of the series -- "Land of Plenty, Land of Want" -- was cosponsored by SARE. This part explores social, economic, and political factors that determine how farmers and communities around the world can work the land to grow food for their rapidly increasing populations without destroying their natural resources.

Produced by Marilyn and Hal Weiner and presented on PBS by South Carolina ETV, Journey to Planet Earth begins with "Rivers of Destiny" on April 6, continues on April 13 with "Land of Plenty, Land of Want," and concludes on April 20 with "Urban Metabolism." All shows air at 9 p.m. CT -- check local listings for stations.