'RESEARCH UPDATE

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Growers in New Brunswick, Canada, where the potato

industry is struggling, have "an*organic matter crisis."
Compost use trials have been underway for several years.
'P e t e r G o m e :

*'

ESEA R CH is being conduct

The potato industry in New B runs
ed in New Brunswick, C anada wick m ust cope w ith depleted soil, in
to d eterm in e w h e th e r ap p ly creasingly un certain w eather, a re la
ing compost on farm land is an tively sh o rt grow ing season and th e
affordable way to stre n g th e n im pact of local changes in agriculture:
th e provinces struggling potato indus
New Brunswicks potato farm s no lon
try a m ainstay of the economy for ger include th e livestock operations
more th a n a century. Although the New th a t provided m anure to m aintain soil
B runsw ick Potato Board says the E ast organic m atter. Those involved are con
C oast province h as the perfect clim ate vinced compost has long-term benefits.
an d to p ography for grow ing th e t u They also know the relatively high cost
bers, acreage is declining and yields are of buying, transporting and spreading
stag n an t while production elsewhere in it. The tests being conducted at both
N orth America expands.
com m ercial field -sc ale
a n d in sm a ll re s e a rc h
C o m p e titio n co m es
from a reas such as Id a
plots aim to determ ine
w hether, and how, com
ho, W ashington S tate and
W isconsin, w here grow
post could provide enough
ers operate on much larg
of a yield in crease and
er, flatter farm s and can
other financial benefits to
p re cisely d e liv e r m o is
offset those costs.
ture, fertilizer, fungicides
Im proved seed q u a l
and other inputs through
ity, crop ro ta tio n s an d
s o p h is tic a te d i r r i g a
u se of technology such
tion system s. T hese re
as GPS and yield m oni
gions produce up to 600
tors are other m easures
h u n d re d w e ig h t (60,000
being studied, w ith th e
pounds) of potatoes per
goal of increasing the av
T h e a v e r a g e y ie ld
acre nearly double the
erage annual potato yield
o f p o t a t o e s g r o w n in
by 45 hundredw eight per
yield in New Brunswick
c o m p o s t - a m e n d e d so il
acre over four years. T hat
and C an ad as other m a ( a b o v e ) h a s in c r e a s e d b y
jor A tlantic coast produc
im provem ent, combined
1 5 to 2 0 h u n d r e d w e i g h t
p e r a c re .
w ith the provinces prox
er, Prince Edw ard Island.

20

B io C ycle

' '

im ity to th e large A m erican e a ste rn

seaboard m arket, could help to ensure a
healthy industry.
The com petitive challenge is clear,
says Joe B rennan, project leader w ith
P otatoes New B runsw ick, th e in d u s
try advocacy group: In th e w estern
regions the sun is a given. They know
they wont get enough rain, so irrig a
tion is needed every year. Its like an
outdoor greenhouse. T h e re s enough
sun and they control m oisture and n u
trien ts. H ere, th e re s little irrig atio n
and we depend on rainfall. W ith ra in
fall, you sometimes see a deficit of w a
ter, or it doesnt always come w hen you
need it, and you cant tu rn it off. Good
healthy soil w ith good organic m atter
can absorb and re ta in m oisture. Its not
perfect, bu t w ith more organic m atter it
will do a much better job. Organic m at
te r is our m ajor way to m anage w ater.
B ut th a t crucial soil ingredient has
b een declining, B re n n a n adds. We
know we have an organic m atter crisis.
The land has been farm ed hard. O rgan
ic m a tte r num bers are not w here they
should be.
Potatoes work the land p retty h ard ,
says Roger Henry, a composting tech
nician w ith A griculture and Agri-Food
C anada, the federal departm en t based
on Prince Edw ard Island. Potatoes draw
D ecember 2015

for the New Brunswick Potato Industry

Transformation Initiative.
The application rate amounts to a
shock treatm ent, Moreau adds. So
far, the best results have come from
loamy soils with higher organic mat
ter, rather than from sandy or gravel
soils with low organic content. Some of
those poor areas would probably need a
lot more compost to make a difference,
he says. The early yield gains arent
high enough to compensate for the cost
of buying, transporting and spreading
the compost.

The trials will show whether results

improve with two or three years of com
post, but, in any case, as an industry
we have to look at it in a different way,
Moreau notes. We cant expect the cost
of an amendment will pay for itself the
year of application. We need a change
of mindset.
He adds th a t compost should be
viewed in the same way as lime, which
is applied to regulate a soils pH level.
Years of production data show potatoes
thrive at a pH of around six. Growers
know that when pH drops to 5.6 or 5.7

If y o u w a n t to m a k e
G R E A T C O M P O S T , y o u h a v e to

G E T AGITATED.
K

McCain Foods, which

processes about 6 0 percent x
of N e w Brunswick's potato
crop into frozen French fries,
has been participating in
commercial-scale compost
trials. The compost, produced
, by Envirem, has been applied
a t a rate of 2 7 .5 tons/acre.

Aerated Agitated Bay In-Vessel

Compost System (ICS)
A g ita to r F e s to o n
P o w e r S u p p ly
A g ita t o r
A g ita to r P L C
C o n tr o l P a ne l
A g i t a t o r R a il

in a lot of nutrients. Theyre grown on

a short rotation with other crops, leav
ing little opportunity for the soil to be
replenished. And they take a long time
to grow, which means theyre harvested
in late fall when fields are typically wet.
That situation leads to soil compaction,
which destroys its structure and, in
turn, increases water and wind erosion.

T e m p e ra tu re
Sensor
C o m p o s t A e r a tio n
B lo w e r

A e r a tio n F lo o r

T r a n a fe r D o lly
D o lly P I C

D o lly R a il

C o n tr o l P a na l

C O M M E RC IA L-SC A LE TRIALS

The field-scale tests are funded in

part by McCain Foods, the New Bruns
wick-based international giant that pro
cesses about 60 percent of the provinces
potato crop into frozen French fries.
McCain is testing compost produced by
Envirem Organics that is made out of
manure from nearby poultry producers,
and sawdust, wood chips and bark from
the provinces forest industry.
Compost applications, at a rate of
27.5 tons per acre for three consecutive
years, began in the fall of 2013. To date
a total of 300 acres on 10 sites has re
ceived at least one treatment. The aver
age yield has increased by 15 to 20 hun
dredweight per acre, with considerable
variation from field to field and between
the initial two years of testing, depend
ing on soil conditions, weather and other
factors, says Gilles Moreau, who heads
the research into soil and water issues
D ecember 2015

C o m p o s ta b le P la s tic s
P a p e r /C a r d b o a r d P a c k a g in g
H igh D e n s ity F e e d s to c k s
C ritic a l O d o r C o n ta in m e n t
S m a ll S ite A v a ila b ility

C on tac t: Rich Nicoletti

PE, Compost Systems Manager
Tel: 978-724-0214
Cell: 518-441-0141
Fax: 518-695-5417
Email: rlch@bdpindustries.com

BDP Industries

PO Box 118, Greenwich, NY 12834

IUW

IN D U STRIES

W W W .b d p in d u s trie S .c o m

B ioC ycle

21

, :

bark ai d
CO ll| o it.
Are you giving it away
the truckload?

by

RESEARCH PLOTS

Meanwhile, scientists from Agriculture and Agri-Food Cana

da, as well as Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, are
conducting the small plot-scale tests, assessing the impacts of
composts from a variety of feedstocks, including: Forestry resi
dues including bark, paper mill residue and wood ash, with about
5 percent manure; Poultry manure, with paper mill residue and
P lo t-s c a le te s ts a r e
a s s e s s in g im p a c ts
o f c o m p o s t fro m
v a r io u s s o u rc e s (in
b a g s ) o n p o ta to
p r o d u c tiv ity ,
a v a i l a b il i t y o f
n u tr ie n ts , soil
q u a lit y a n d a b ilit y
to s u p p re s s s o ilb o r n e d is e a s e s .

P roven, a c c u ra te vo lu m e
m e a s u re m e n t

A u to m a tic tru c k id e n tific a tio n

G u a ra n te e supply q u a n titie s

In s ta n t lo a d re p o rtin g an d
s o ftw a re in te g ra tio n

Get w hat you pay for, no more,

n o le s s , n o a r g u m e n t s !

LC)ADSCAN
LOAD MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS

+ 1 8 0 0 7 4 7 2 9 7 3 or
s a le s @ le a d s c a r i.c o n i

lo a d s c a n .c o m

22

its time to add enough lime to get a little above the optimum
level. These treatm ents are expensive, but last three or four
years and are budgeted for over th a t period. Theres no similar
data for organic matter, Moreau explains. That is a serious
lack of knowledge. Growers need to know the original organic
matter, what level is required for the best yield, and at what
point more should be applied, and in w hat quantities, for op
timum results.
Such knowledge might let growers apply compost only when
and in the amount needed, with a substantial cost reduction.
The benefit could be increased by adjusting crop rotations and
other farm practices to improve the soils health.
Moreau hopes for an extension to his four years of funding,
since compost impacts are long-term. You dont change soil
very rapidly, he says. Its a very complex physical, chemical
and biological system. Things dont happen quickly, especially
when youre working with organic matter.

B io C ycle

wood ash; Hen and sheep manure, with bark; Municipal source
separated organics; and Marine shells, with bark, farm waste,
manure, perlite, peat and lime.
These trials are intended to measure the effect of each type
of compost on potato productivity, availability of nutrients, im
pact on soil quality and the ability to suppress soil-borne dis
eases a key issue for potato producers.
While its too soon to report data, were seeing some benefi
cial results, depending on the compost feedstock, says Bernie
Zebarth, a soil scientist at the departm ents Fredericton Re
search and Development Centre, in the provincial capital. Its
pretty early on, were reluctant to say, but it looks promising.
Compost is being studied for its potential to improve soil
health and structure, Zebarth adds: Were not applying it for
nutrients. Were after it as a way to increase soil organic m at
ter. In fact, they are focusing on mature, stable compost to avoid
a flush of nitrogen and other nutrients when its first applied.
The researchers expect the most im portant benefit of the ad
ditional organic m atter will be to aid the soils ability to hold
moisture. That would not only reduce stress on the potato crop
in dry periods but also, by reducing run-off and leaching in
heavy rains, give growers better control over the nutrients they
provide through commercial fertilizers. Its also food for good
bugs, which keep bad bugs in check, notes Henry of Agricul
ture and Agri-Food Canada.

Peter Gorrie is a Contributing Editor to BioCycle. Research for

this story is part of a multiyear agricultural research and mar
ket development initiative by The Compost Council of Canada,
Region of Peel (Ontario), compost producers, farmers and govern
ment agencies.
D ecember 2015

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