Dairy Compost Workshops

Dairy Compost Workshops

I’m Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

WSU Extension soil scientists will be conducting dairy compost workshops November 12th in Moses Lake and November 13th in Prosser. WSU Soil Scientist, Andy Bary, says the workshops will help dairy producers learn how to better manage their compost in order to meet new proposed rules for food safety by the FDA.

BARY: I’m going to cover the new FSMA guidelines and how they relate to composting and manure, and then also go over composting procedures and techniques that will help you make a really good compost and meet new FSMA guidelines.

The proposed Food Safety Modernization Act rules would affect how compost is produced, how long you need to wait before a crop is harvested, and with manure how long the waiting times will be between application and harvest of a covered crop - a crop that is generally eaten raw.

BARY: Produce that are covered are produce where the part you eat touches the ground, or if eaten raw there’s a chance for potential food borne contamination. So we’re dealing with things like lettuce, broccoli, cabbage - if you want to sell those fresh, you’re going to need to make sure that you’re producing a product that those growers want to be able to use and can use in a good manner.

Bary says the new FSMA rules will be released within the year but implementation will be phased in over several years. The free workshops are sponsored by the Washington Dairy Federation, the Washington State Department of Agriculture Dairy Nutrient Management Program, and WSU Dairy Nutrient Management Program. Those wishing to attend should preregister by emailing Andy Bary at bary@wsu.edu or calling 253-445-4588.

That’s Washington Ag Today.

I’m Lacy Gray on the Ag Information Network.