Martin’s Compost Farm

  • Post published:04/10/2016
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Adam Martin and his screener
Adam Martin and his screener

Why do we need compost farms? On October 1, 2014 the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection made a requirement that all businesses or institutions that created more than one ton of organic waste a week find a source to accept and recycle that waste. This rule affected schools, colleges, hospitals, prisons, restaurants and more. Although compost farms already existed the rule created a need for even more places that would accept and use these organics. Massachusetts has been at the forefront of this environmental policy for years.

Robert Martin was ahead of the curve. In 1981 he bought 90 acres of farmland from the Meyer family and raised beef, pigs and vegetables. He sold his products locally and in Boston. Like all such farms he generated wastes, and green debris. He was aware of the stresses and needs of the environment, and he thought his waste could be turned into a benefit; he began making compost. In 1987 the Mass DEP permitted him as an on-farm composting operation. It was the first one in the state.

Adam Martin
Adam Martin

I met with Adam Martin who bought the farm from his father, who retired with his mother to Kentucky, in 2014.

Adam worked on the farm during his growing up years, but his father hadn’t wanted his son to go into farming. He wanted his son to have an easier life and a more dependable job.  The plan was for Adam to attend a diesel school in Wyoming for a year, which he did, but he continued working on the farm after finishing the program.

It wasn’t until he went to Africa for two weeks in 2006 with a church youth group that his eyes were opened to the work that was to be done in the world to help others. He looked at the world differently and he looked at the farm differently. In 2008 he led another church group to India and his determination to do something meaningful increased. Upon his return Adam told his father he had no desire to leave the farm. He loved the farm and he saw how the farm could provide benefits to the community and the environment while it gave him and a staff a reasonable livelihood.

Today Martin’s Compost Farm removes tons of organic waste from the waste stream. In the United States food waste is the second highest component of landfills which are the largest source of methane emissions. Locally our garbage is taken and burned emitting carbon dioxide, an important greenhouse gas that is causing climate disruption.

Martin's Farm compost steaming as it cooks
Martin’s Farm compost steaming as it cooks

The farm now handles up to 15 tons of organic waste a week. Martin hauls much of this himself, collecting dumpsters from various sites. The Bridge of Flowers participates in a compost collective in ShelburneFalls organized by Franklin County Solid Waste Management. Bridge staff and volunteers throw weeds and spent plants into a dumpster that also holds waste from the different town restaurants. The dumpster is emptied every week or two depending on the season.

In addition to food waste Martin’s Farm compost includes newspaper and cardboard, manure, and leaves from the town. Martin spoke enthusiastically and energetically about his goal “to generate the best compost. Customers use it to amend their soil and their success is my success.”

I never dreamed of all the work it takes to make compost commercially. Martin’s farm begins with not accepting any material that has used herbicides. The compost is certified organic which makes his compost acceptable by organic farms. The process on the farm begins with hand sorting, pulling out large pieces of trash. Then large machinery is called into action.

First, there is the machine that turns the windrows of waste. There are usually 12 or 13 windrows in various states of decomposition at any one time. The windrows are carefully monitored for temperatures, oxygen and moisture, maintaining a temperature no higher than 133 degrees, just hot enough to kill weeds and pathogens.

When the compost is ready it goes into the enormous screener with a fine mesh that screens out wood chips and other non-compostable materials. The wood ultimately makes its way into wood chip mulch pile. “It is so important to me to have as pure a product as possible” Martin said.

Finally, there is a super vacuum that removes any further non-compostables. The finished compost is tested by the University of Massachusetts three times a year so Martin can be certain that he is maintaining his own standards of quality.

Gardeners and landscapers need more than compost and Martin’s Compost Farm also offers a 50-50 compost and loam mix, compo-mulch and wood chip mulches.

I will always use compost to enrich my soil and improve it structure. I will always make my own compost because it is the small way I can keep organic waste out of the waste stream. However there are times when a garden needs more than what my little compost bin can supply. I am thrilled that Martin’s Farm and other compost farms exist locally taking compostable materials and turning them into a benefit instead of an environmental problem.

For full information about Martin’s Compost Farm log on to their website

Martin's compost  -  in the rain
Martin’s compost – in the rain

Between the Rows   April 3, 2016

 

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