THE TRAINWRECK. Brought to you by thcfarrmer…..

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Hell yeah, I'll buy some of your compost. Lol already sold me on it.

The Captain and i were joking yesterday that if you hang out in this forum long enough you will get some perspective on dirt... how right we were.

We need to come up with a system to get more composting going on in general. With the amount of food waste we have in this country on a daily basis, there must be a way we can get some of that into a compost pile. We need to design containers that people can dump their food waste in, and have trucks come collect it once a week just like recycling and trash, and they take it to a central facility where it gets added to compost piles.

I'm not sure if this would be possible to do both logistically and practically, especially since composting is kind of technical and you need to have certain things in your compost to make it healthy and viable, but then of course the problem arises, just like in recycling, you can't control what the consumer is putting in there. So, idk. But it would be really cool if we could figure this out!

 

[Captspaulding]

We need to come up with a system to get more composting going on in general. With the amount of food waste we have in this country on a daily basis, there must be a way we can get some of that into a compost pile. We need to design containers that people can dump their food waste in, and have trucks come collect it once a week just like recycling and trash, and they take it to a central facility where it gets added to compost piles.

I'm not sure if this would be possible to do both logistically and practically, especially since composting is kind of technical and you need to have certain things in your compost to make it healthy and viable, but then of course the problem arises, just like in recycling, you can't control what the consumer is putting in there. So, idk. But it would be really cool if we could figure this out!

I’m a fan of the 55 gallon barrel rotisserie set up, punch holes everywhere in the barrel, set on a spit, attach a crank handle, I’d reinforce it with a quad bolted steel plate. And get to rotating every 3rd or forth day. That’s my plan soon. I have 2 piles in my yard, but I’d like to get something going to accelerate the breakdown….

 

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I’m a fan of the 55 gallon barrel rotisserie set up, punch holes everywhere in the barrel, set on a spit, attach a crank handle, I’d reinforce it with a quad bolted steel plate. And get to rotating every 3rd or forth day. That’s my plan soon. I have 2 piles in my yard, but I’d like to get something going to accelerate the breakdown….

I'd say the most important tool everyone needs for composting is a compost thermometer. It looks like a meat thermometer but the probe can be anywhere from 1 to 4 feet long, even bigger. Temperature is key in composting, knowing when and how to turn the compost is essential.

 

[Captspaulding]

I’m a fan of the 55 gallon barrel rotisserie set up, punch holes everywhere in the barrel, set on a spit, attach a crank handle, I’d reinforce it with a quad bolted steel plate. And get to rotating every 3rd or forth day. That’s my plan soon. I have 2 piles in my yard, but I’d like to get something going to accelerate the breakdown….

But you are correct obtaining the proper frequencies of the nutrient dense Bi product is a bit of a logistical issue yes, but I think it could be done In a very proactive community….

 

[Captspaulding]

I'd say the most important tool everyone needs for composting is a compost thermometer. It looks like a meat thermometer but the probe can be anywhere from 1 to 4 feet long, even bigger. Temperature is key in composting, knowing when and how to turn the compost is essential.

That good steam

 

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That good steam

Yeah, too hot and you risk killing off all of your microbes, not warm enough you risk bad microbes, it's kind of a balancing act.

 

[Captspaulding]

Yeah, too hot and you risk killing off all of your microbes, not warm enough you risk bad microbes, it's kind of a balancing act.

I’ve done a little reading and general research. I’m 100% sure, there’s layers to that world I know nothing about. Especially on the microbial level. I think I know who I’m gonna be harassing when I get to that point

 

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I’ve done a little reading and general research. I’m 100% sure, there’s layers to that world I know nothing about. Especially on the microbial level. I think I know who I’m gonna be harassing when I get to that point

Bro you have no idea it's like taking everything you thought you knew about growing, and throwing it all away and starting over. This woman is amazing, though, she's pretty much single handedly changed how we think about growing plants in every way. When you realize that fungi and bacteria are more important to plants than any synthetic fertilizer you could ever use, it will blow your mind.

 

[Captspaulding]

Bro you have no idea it's like taking everything you thought you knew about growing, and throwing it all away and starting over. This woman is amazing, though, she's pretty much single handedly changed how we think about growing plants in every way. When you realize that fungi and bacteria are more important to plants than any synthetic fertilizer you could ever use, it will blow your mind.

Well, being a dollar store mycologist, I have been learning, and beginning to understand the world of fungus. It’s amazing stuff. I’m gonna look her up, she have any videos out in the ether?

 

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Well, being a dollar store mycologist, I have been learning, and beginning to understand the world of fungus. It’s amazing stuff. I’m gonna look her up, she have any videos out in the ether?

https://www.youtube.com/@soilfoodwebschool

Live right now, actually.

 

[Captspaulding]

Well shit. Nice! Thank you!

 

[Deadstill]

Well shit. Nice! Thank you!

No problem! Yeah there's a lot of good information even just on her YT channel. Check out the previous live streams section I think those are probably the most informative. I'm not really a fan or even a believer so much in the whole "climate change" aspect but firmly believe they are on the right track and that it's going to be important to have sustainable farming practices, and it only makes sense as a farmer myself I can attest the cost of fertilizers is insane and they're only destroying our soils.

 

[Captspaulding]

No problem! Yeah there's a lot of good information even just on her YT channel. Check out the previous live streams section I think those are probably the most informative. I'm not really a fan or even a believer so much in the whole "climate change" aspect but firmly believe they are on the right track and that it's going to be important to have sustainable farming practices, and it only makes sense as a farmer myself I can attest the cost of fertilizers is insane and they're only destroying our soils.

One of the most noble of causes. Yeah man I went ahead and subbed the page, what’s under the surface is just as important as what’s above it.

 

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One of the most noble of causes. Yeah man I went ahead and subbed the page, what’s under the surface is just as important as what’s above it.

On my dad's side of the family, they have a huge farm in Iowa. Like thousands of acres. I could only imagine how much fuel costs alone would save them if they switched to no-till.

 

[Captspaulding]

On my dad's side of the family, they have a huge farm in Iowa. Like thousands of acres. I could only imagine how much fuel costs alone would save them if they switched to no-till.

Brother, I can only imagine. It’s probably absolutely absurd right now. I mean, shit, it’s been a steady incline for almost 2 decades at this point. It just never lets up. Especially diesel right now.

 

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Brother, I can only imagine. It’s probably absolutely absurd right now. I mean, shit, it’s been a steady incline for almost 2 decades at this point. It just never lets up. Especially diesel right now.

For sure and with inflation on top of rising fertilizer prices and lower availability, it's really making a difference for the farmers that are making the switch. I've heard story after story of farmers switching to no-till and suddenly they become profitable again. It's definitely not easy, though. No-till regenerative farming is both an investment and a commitment. The turn off to some people is that it can and usually does take 2, 3, up to 5 years to fully regenerate your soil. So your yields won't be as great, etc. for the first couple of years. But after it's been regenerated? It's super easy to maintain and fertilizer costs are down 85% even 100% in a lot of cases. Fuel costs from not tilling go way down. It's totally worth it in the end.

 

[Captspaulding]

For sure and with inflation on top of rising fertilizer prices and lower availability, it's really making a difference for the farmers that are making the switch. I've heard story after story of farmers switching to no-till and suddenly they become profitable again. It's definitely not easy, though. No-till regenerative farming is both an investment and a commitment. The turn off to some people is that it can and usually does take 2, 3, up to 5 years to fully regenerate your soil. So your yields won't be as great, etc. for the first couple of years. But after it's been regenerated? It's super easy to maintain and fertilizer costs are down 85% even 100% in a lot of cases. Fuel costs from not tilling go way down. It's totally worth it in the end.

I don’t see what the aversion to it would be on the part of farmers not interested. It seems to me, if you’re sowing crops on a slice of land, logic would dictate you are going to be there for the long haul. So why not implement the practice, not worry about instant gratification, and go through the process. It’s better than the alternative it seems by the seemingly exponential savings. Seems like maybe some old dogs don’t want to learn new tricks…..

 

[Captspaulding]

I don’t see what the aversion to it would be on the part of farmers not interested. It seems to me, if you’re sowing crops on a slice of land, logic would dictate you are going to be there for the long haul. So why not implement the practice, not worry about instant gratification, and go through the process. It’s better than the alternative it seems by the seemingly exponential savings. Seems like maybe some old dogs don’t want to learn new tricks…..

And if there is one thing I know about growing things, is that school never ends. There is always something new to learn. Anyone who thinks otherwise, has a bit of growing up to do.

 

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I don’t see what the aversion to it would be on the part of farmers not interested. It seems to me, if you’re sowing crops on a slice of land, logic would dictate you are going to be there for the long haul. So why not implement the practice, not worry about instant gratification, and go through the process. It’s better than the alternative it seems by the seemingly exponential savings. Seems like maybe some old dogs don’t want to learn new tricks…..

I think that's a big part of it, people don't like change. I can see both sides of the argument, though. I mean if you're running a huge farm and you've got all kinds of financing out there, payments for the tractor, payments for the combine, mortgages, etc. and if you don't have a lot of profit to begin with, changing something so fundamental about your operation could mean losing everything. If they don't meet their bottom line at harvest, they're hit. So that's definitely a huge driving factor. For small mom and pop operations like I've got, it definitely is a no brainer. But I can see how for some larger operations it could be a risk they don't wish to take.

 

[Captspaulding]

I think that's a big part of it, people don't like change. I can see both sides of the argument, though. I mean if you're running a huge farm and you've got all kinds of financing out there, payments for the tractor, payments for the combine, mortgages, etc. and if you don't have a lot of profit to begin with, changing something so fundamental about your operation could mean losing everything. If they don't meet their bottom line at harvest, they're hit. So that's definitely a huge driving factor. For small mom and pop operations like I've got, it definitely is a no brainer. But I can see how for some larger operations it could be a risk they don't wish to take.

See I was just thinking about that though, I’m sure it could still be done if implemented in stages, you know, start with a few acres a year, stagger it out, with some decent planning, a lot of Longview planning, you could get some swaths of land going. It would take a lot of time. But with some savvy planning. Anything is possible. I do get that larger operations do have some extenuating circumstances that I don’t know a damned thing about, so yeah, sounds good though….