ANOR
Newsletter from Australia
December 2006
Once again we welcome all ANOR members to the December edition of the ANOR
newsletter compiled by Gerry Gillespie.
Great interest has been growing in Australia in regard to ANOR in 2006 and in
the new year we hope to be bringing many new members into the organisation.
We have strong commercial interests in supporting the group and we hope toarrange a seminar toward the end of 2007 on the issues surrounding themarketing of recycled organic products here in Australia. If you have any
companies which may be interested in financially supporting such a seminarwhich could be held in conjunction with an ANOR meeting, please ask them tocontact me at:gerry.gillespie@environment.nsw.gov.au
As interest grows in the problem of Climate Change it is clear that to make a realdifference for future generations the most important issue will be protecting our soils
and sequestering vast quantities of carbon in those soils and plants through carefulagricultural management and the return of quality recycled organic products tofarmland.
A new group which was formed in the past year in Australia is the Carbon Coalition.
Visit their web site at:
http://www.carboncoalition.com.au/

Our first story this year comes from the highly respected Dr Bob Paulin, from the
Department of Agriculture Western Australia. If you are attending the US
Composting Councils conference in Orlando in January next year you will hear him
speak. Following are the Media and Technical summaries of Dr Paulin’s work:

Identifying the benefits of composted soil
amendments to vegetable production
Bob Paulin et al.
Department of Agriculture, Western Australia
bpaulin@agric.wa.gov.au

Media summary
A major national project to evaluate the benefits of compost to vegetable production
has demonstrated compost consistently increases marketable yield and improves soil
quality. Its continued use will build soil nitrogen and carbon, increase soil biologicalactivity and cation exchange capacity, increase water holding capacity, reduce bulk
density and stabilise pH.

This leads to increased returns and benefits for growers, the environment and thewider community.
When transplanting leafy crops good quality compost has been shown to elevate plant
available nitrogen increasing yields and potentially allowing major reductions inapplied fertiliser. Root crops were shown to be sensitive to compost quality and yieldand quality increases were not as dramatic. To gain the full advantage of using
compost on these crops it will be necessary to adjust fertiliser programs to account for
the improved soil fertility.
Improved marketable yield and savings in fertiliser alone have been sufficient toreturn extra dollars particularly on light sandy soils. The greatest benefits arise when
its regular use effectively ‘bullet proofs’ the soil against unanticipated climatic events,
irrigation or equipment failure and human error that would otherwise result in loss ofpotential yield.
This is because compost increases soil organic matter which increases the soils abilityto:• Hold crop available nutrients and water.
• Maintain and improve soil aeration and drainage; and• Maintain optimal pH and reduce erosion.
One of the most important findings has been the ability of compost to increase thesupply of plant available nitrogen and potentially reduce the need for large amounts ofinorganic nitrogen. It contains useful quantities of plant available phosphorus,
potassium and magnesium and the nitrogen it contains is retained in the soil and isavailable for future crop use.
To achieve full benefits growers will need to incorporate the use of compost into theirnormal management programs and the report acknowledges that a number of changes
and developments are needed before growers will use compost on a large scale. The
findings highlight the potential for compost to contribute to the development of ’best
practice’ production systems that further improve productivity by making better useof fertiliser, irrigation and pesticides and that produce more consistent, better quality
crops with less impact on soil and ground water quality.
The level of improvement in soil and crop performance that can be achieved by using
compost will depend on the concentration at which soil carbon reaches equilibrium
within the applied management system. The report discusses the need to change
management practices to increase soil organic matter levels further and achieve
greater potential benefits.
Aspects of compost quality that improve its performance have been identified andmade available to the composting industry. However the challenge to the composting
industry is to implement quality management that will consistently deliver the quality
required for vegetable production. In the short term, achieving greater use of compost
by the vegetable industry relies on reducing its cost. Since the benefits of use extends
to the wider community through assisting the beneficial reuse of organic wastes,increasing the proportion of cost borne by the waste producers will provide amechanism to reduce cost.

Technical summary
This project was established to quantify and promote the benefits of using compost inAustralian vegetable production. Vegetable production faces multiple challenges ofimproving productivity, meeting growing demands for ‘safe, clean and green’ produce
and managing increasing costs and competition while demonstrating sustainable useof soil and water resources.
Both urban communities and agriculture are also being challenged to implement ‘zero
waste’ principals that include environmentally and socially acceptable recycling of
their wastes. This project therefore explores the potential for utilising principallyorganic wastes to the benefit of both agriculture and the wider community. The
research and development program involved fertilizer replacement, production systemevaluation and commercial demonstration sites. A series of nutrient replacement trials
were established to determine the adjustment in fertiliser program required toaccommodate nutrients provided by compost.
Replicated split plot experiments were established to evaluate the nitrogen (both WA
and Victoria), phosphorus and potassium (WA only) contributions from a commercial
urban greenwaste based compost, applied at 0, 30 and 60 m3/ha. The nutrient underinvestigation at each trial site was applied at five rates from 0 to 125% of commercial
practice and other nutrient requirements were applied in accordance with current bestpractice. Crop rotation reflected regional commercial practice and where possiblecombined a root and leafy crop. The System evaluation trial site in WA allowed
comparison of three independently irrigated soil management strategies involving
conventional inorganic best practice, compost and compost combined with clay soil
amendment. Compost was applied at 30 m3/ha prior to each crop and the clay content
in the clay amended plots was adjusted to 5% in the top 15 cm, prior to trial
commencement.
In Victoria the focus was on the use of composts made from different feedstocks andthe resultant impact on compost quality and performance. In WA, the sandy soils
allowed the installation of lysimeters at both the fertiliser and system sites andcombined with electronic tensiometers, allowed detailed monitoring of both irrigationand nutrient management in selected treatments. In all but one of the 17 trials
conducted, yields improvement was indicated. Based on the cheapest fertiliser
chemicals, savings in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, together with other key
nutrients, initially accounted for half of the typical cost of applying compost and with
continued use, savings increase to two thirds of the applied cost.
Significant improvements, particularly on the sandy soils, were noted in all soil
characteristics measured, including increased soil organic matter, organic nitrogen,biological activity and diversity, cation exchange capacity, volumetric soil moisturealong with improved soil pH and reduced bulk density. The addition of clay at thesystem site further added to both crop and soil performance. Gross marginal analysis
indicated that the use of compost in vegetable production will increase returns.
Further when events such as irrigation failure and or unseasonal conditions resulted incrop stress, the improvements to soil performance associated with regular compost
use had the potential to produce large increases in crop and therefore returns.

The potential for vegetable production and other horticultural crops to reuse large
volumes of reclaimed water from waste water treatment plants creates a need toestablish permanent areas or precincts for horticultural production. Apart fromchallenging the current planning process of continuous urbanisation, the protection ofgroundwater quality within these precincts will require changes to the current farming
system.
Combining the reuse of organic wastes to improve soil organic matter and soil
performance with the adoption of better management will significantly increase thelevel of groundwater protection that can be achieved. Despite the demonstrated
improvement in returns, growth in the use of compost in vegetable production
continues to be limited.
Results at commercial demonstration sites have also generally been positive, but inreality the increases achieved have not been sufficient to overcome:• cost and a reluctance to alter existing management practices;• difficulties with making adjustments to fertiliser program; and• requirements for storing and spreading compost and growers’ limited experience
with its successful use coupled to either first or second hand experiences with poor
quality compost.
Results from the PhD program at the University of Western Australia confirmed thatcompost makes a significantly greater contribution to the development of soil organic
matter than poultry manure. However, the reality is that while there is unrestricted
access to low cost raw manures the higher cost and lower nitrogen availability ofcompost will significantly limit its use by most growers. Progress is being made in
developing suitable application equipment and positive results associated withcompost use in an increasing range of crops are accumulating.
The current national Compost Roadmap Project, with a focus on developing
agricultural compost markets, will assist and potential changes to policies governing
the application of organics to land will address some of the competitive inequities thatcurrently reduce compost’s competitiveness. The mobility of inorganic nitrogen in all
soils and its impact on groundwater quality is a major challenge for vegetableproduction. While losses will be reduced by further improving fertiliser and irrigation
practices, the use of compost will increase and maintain soil nitrogen and organic
matter and provide significant additional capacity to manage nitrogen loss and to use
less nitrogen.
Greater research and development focus on ‘Carbon based vegetable production’ tofurther increase soil organic matter levels will maximise the potential to reduce
nitrogen, irrigation and pesticide usage. Work to develop these systems will usefully
integrate aspects of cover cropping, permanent bed production (Rogers 2002) andpossibly sub-surface irrigation with compost use to develop lower input, highperformance production systems that better meet the combined needs of greater
productivity, better resource protection and the production of safe healthy fresh food.
(Editors Note: Full copies of this report are available from Dr Bob Paulin at:
bpaulin@agric.wa.gov.a)Waste Management Association of Australia
Compost Roadmap
Angus Johnston
National Project Manager – Recycled Organics

The official launch of the Compost Supply Chain Roadmap was a historic day
for the Compost Industry. At what time does a diverse group of businesses
involved in processing organic wastes and producing soil and energy products
become a distinct industry group? When do individual businesses recognise that
it is important to cooperate, not just compete?
For the Compost Industry that time is now, and the occasion was dramatically marked
by members of WMAA and dignitaries at Parliament House Canberra.
On February 13, 2006 the Parliamentary secretary to the Minister for the Environment,
the Hon. Greg Hunt MP, added federal political clout to an already extensive processof consultation and engagement. It is this engagement process, as much a the written
document, that provides a firm foundation for implementing the industry growthstrategies described in the Roadmap. People, and the networks formed between them,
give the industry the capacity to deal with the many challenges they are faced with.
The networks have certainly been growing. It has been estimated that more than 600
stakeholders participated in the Roadmap conference series and follow-up events held
during 2005. At the same time working groups in all five mainland states have been
meeting regularly to discuss and address local issues. While at a national level theCompost Australia Division works to connect people and projects nationally.
Compost Australia has taken responsibility for maintaining the momentum andimplementing the roadmap strategies. I was appointed as the Industry’s National
Projects Manager in January, with my main role being to translate the Roadmap
strategies into actions. Funding for this position has come both from the industry andstate governments.
The remainder of this article provides an insiders view on the Compost Industry,
which faces a difficult transition to a higher cost base for recovery of organic waste
for beneficial reuse.
Two pressures dominate the minds of processors of organic waste across the country.
The fast growing supply of organic waste requiring processing and the much slower
growth of high value markets for recycled organic products. It is clear that thecompost industry is on the verge of a difficult transition period, particularly in NSW.
For some time a competitive gate fee for processing organic waste using an open
windrow process has been around $30 a tonne. This price factored in the existence of
higher value, established markets for recycled organic products in close proximity tourban areas. In Sydney these markets have already passed saturation, with oversupply
resulting in increased inventory stockpiles and lower sale prices for recycled organic
products. There are signs that Melbourne and Adelaide have starting to experience thesame problems.
Lower value markets for recycled organic products involving considerable transportand higher application rates (agriculture and land rehabilitation) require a gate fee of$50-$60 per tonne. These gate fees reflect the costs associated with producing quality,fit for purpose products and transporting them out of urban areas to where they are
most needed.
Some processors are now faced with stockpiles of compost at the $30/tonne cost basethat now require $50/tonne or more to process and deliver to a customer. Where
processors decide to pass on cost increases at the gate they risk losing their supply of
raw materials. Where they don’t, they risk losing their business. Long term contracts
mean that some processors do not have the option to raise gate fees and must bleed
until the contract ends, even though these problems may not have been apparent when
the contract was signed.
The message for Local Government is clear. Gate fees for source separated organic
wastes are set to rise either at the end of your current contract or when your processor
is forced to close the gate for financial or regulatory reasons. The good news is thatprocessing source separated organic wastes will still be a lower cost and lower riskalternative to either landfill or mixed waste processing technologies, even at$60/tonne.
Processors who focus on producing quality recycled organic products and creatingstrong relationships with buyers will be best placed to deal with the transition period.
In contrast processors who focus on securing supply at the expense of non-viable gate
fees gate fees may struggle to survive financially. Crucially processors must
understand the changing nature of markets for recycled organic products in order tomake informed business decisions when submitting tenders for organic resource
recovery.
State and Local Government could facilitate a smoother transition by moving tocontracts for ‘beneficial use’ of organic wastes rather than simply tendering fororganic waste ‘disposal’ or even ‘processing’. By specifying beneficial uses forrecycled organics a level playing field would be created for contractors who
understand their markets and know how to make products that meet their customers
needs. Local Governments, who must be guided mainly by price, would weed out
poor quality contractors who are unlikely to find sustainable markets let alone achieve
the highest and best use of the recycled material.
While the Compost Industry is growing rapidly it is still relatively early in its
development. The fact that the large waste management corporations have yet toreally buy into the industry indicates that the necessary financial returns do not exist,
the business model is yet to be perfected, and the underpinning framework of
regulation and incentive is still inadequate.
This is an exciting time but also a time of considerable risk. By working together
through Compost Australia the Compost Industry is implementing a strategy to reducerisk and grow the industry for the benefit of both community and commercial
aspirations.

Recycled Organics Industry R&D ForumDr Richard Stewart
Chair Organizing Committee
The 2006 Recycled Organics Industry R&D Forum held in Adelaide on 26-27
September was an outstanding success. More than 74 delegates attended theForum including representatives from industry, research institutions andgovernment regulators. Compost Australia and Zero Waste SA generously
sponsored the event.
The attendance numbers exceeded all expectations and was an indication of the levelof interest that the recycled organics industry is attracting at present. It was great tosee the wide diversity of research projects that are being conducted in this area, and to
see the level of enthusiasm shown by the industry players.
The overall aims of the Forum were to:• avoid duplication,• create collaborative research opportunities,• network throughout the industry,• identify and lobby funding bodies for additional research funds, and• to develop a national research framework for our industry.
Steven Marshall from Compost SA gave opening remarks on behalf of industry to set
the context of the two day Forum. He reiterated that the Recycled Organics industry iscurrently at a cross-roads and that R&D would play a key role in addressing some of
the industry’s major goals going forward. He also stressed the need for a morecoordinated national approach to R&D to avoid duplication and to maximize funding
opportunities.
The Forum was divided into State based sessions where a designated leader presented
an overview of the research being done in a particular State followed by a number of
specific R&D presentations from local researchers. This format allowed industry to
get a feel for the diversity of R&D being undertaken and the relative strengths andcapabilities of research organizations in each State.
On the Wednesday night delegates enjoyed an entertaining and interesting dinnerspeech from Professor Mark Tester, Federation Fellow at the Australian Centre for
Plant Functional Genomics based in Adelaide. Professor Tester spoke about“'Genetically modified crops after dinner - science and politics clash again” which
certainly created some lively debate.
On Thursday morning Dr Dean Metcalf of Biocontrol Pty Ltd based in Tasmania
spoke to a breakfast audience of more than 65 about the use of recycled organics
products for disease suppression in vegetable growing. A few of the myths about“compost teas” were well and truly laid to rest!
The priority R&D area identified at the Forum was marketing and education,reflecting the Industry’s need to disseminate the outcomes of the extensive knowledge
and technologies already developed by the R&D community. This was closely
followed by a need for R&D that links composts into sustainable agricultural systems
and provides a better understanding of the biological effects of compost on soils. The

R&D required to support improvements quality standards such as AS4454 was also
listed as a high priority.
Conference proceedings from the 2006 Forum will be made available throughCompost Australia on DVD to all who registered for the conference and at a low cost
to other interested parties. The outcomes of the Forum will be summarized in a draft
report to be submitted to Compost Australia. Ultimately, this report will be used as abasis for creating a National R&D Framework for the Recycled Organics Industry.
I would like to extend a big thanks to the people who volunteered their time to makethis event a success, including Ross Ballard, Katie Webster, Steven Marshall,
Matthew Ayres, Angus Johnston (Compost Australia) and Philip Matthews (Zero
Waste SA).
More information on the Compost Roadmap and composting in Australia can beobtained via email from Angus Johnston at: angus@wmaa.asn.au

Liquid Organic Products
New markets in an ancient land
By Gerry Gillespie

It may just be possible that the most cost-effective way to get recycled organic
products back into agriculture may be in water.
The marketing of recycled organic products back to agriculture has always beena vexed question. Many marketers will complain that the products they aretrying to sell have limited appeal to agriculture because of the cost oftransportation and the difficulty of spreading the product once it gets to the farm.
The main problem of course is the bulky qualities of dry composted products . The
quantities need to deliver biology, nutrient or even a simple mulching effect toagriculture are often defeated by the cost of transportation.
A firm from Townsville in Queensland, Australia is addressing this problem byproducing a high quality, high nutrient, product which can be put to the land simply
by spraying it onto the crop area using standard farm-based equipment.
The quality of the product and the agricultural and environmental results it achieves
more than justify the transport costs of the concentrated product.
After twelve years of research and work with Australian farmers in a broad range ofcrops including the sugar and banana industries, Vital Resource Management (VRM)
now have a range of products to suit every farming application. Their products
originally demonstrated that they had the ability to control odours from the effluentsof many industries. They can now confidently take a range of solid or fluid organic
wastes and turn them from problems into profits.

Following are a number of small stories from this year’s newsletters from VRM
which clearly demonstrates the broad range of applications for their products and thefuture for liquid fertilisers and inoculants in the Asian region.

EM for the Sugar Mills
December 05 and January 06 were extremely busy months for the three VRM Inoculation
trucks, logging many KMs trying to cover all the sugar mills north and south of Townsville.
With the crushing season extending far beyond its normal dates, the sugar mills were in needto have their effluent ponds regularly sprayed with eMCA. The inoculum helps with the odourof these ponds and digests a lot of the organic material found in the water. Because of thereadily available food source found in the mill wastewater, our bugs thrive in this environmentand quickly take care of the stinky situation. VRM does regular inoculation programs for over
20 mills on the coast. Over the past several years, it has become evident – and widely
accepted -- that successful management of their waste systems is a function of the ability tomaintain consistently active populations of the right microbes. The key to VRM’s successwith these programs has been the location of the inoculation sites and our ability to build up
populations throughout the process stream.

A Big Nod for Probiotic Cleaners!!
In an independent study conducted by the Technical University of Wels in Austria, it was
found that VRM’s Probiotic Cleaners were as effective at cleaning as its chemical
counterparts. The study compared the effectiveness of VRM’s eMC® cleaners to chemical
equivalents and disinfectants. To examine the cleaning effects, surfaces were cleaned andexamined for dirt using ATP measurement and conventional, microbiological methods. These
controlled tests were completed in various facilities and on various surfaces.
From the Abstract: “The results show that directly after the cleaning process, the eMC® andcomparative cleaning agents provided virtually identical results and were only slightly
surpassed by the disinfectant. The results also indicated that the test surfaces subjected toeMC® Cleaner remained cleaner for longer, than those treated with the comparative agents.
Above all, this was the case 24 and 48 hours after cleaning…”

VRM Called In
After the desludging of waste ponds at the Wastewater Treatment Plant by Townsville
Citiwater created unpleasant odours for the businesses around the treatment plant, VRM wascalled in to help control the situation. A busy day of spraying the ponds and their edges with
eM formulations and spreading Bokashi controlled the situation. We were certainly
appreciative in the office, after being overwhelmed with the odours the day before.

Record Sales of BioBase
The month of November has seen VRM far exceed any previous monthly sales of BioBase,it’s well known liquid fertiliser. Over 530, 000L have been brewed and shipped out of ourwarehouse with many thousands of litres of concentrates also moving through various
distributors around the country! Most of it heading north to the Ingham and Innisfail region.
BioBase has proven very popular among the sugar cane and banana farmers, as both haveseen significant increases in yield, while reducing the amount of fertiliser applied to the land.
BioBase is able to accomplish this by delivering nutrients in a liquid form and in a “predigested” state with microbes already present. This allows faster uptake of nutrients andhelps build microbial populations which continue to feed plants long after fertilising.

A New EM-Based ProductBio Start +VRM has now introduced Bio Start +, it’s latest EM-based agricultural product.
This
formulation, a combination of liquid kelp, humates and friendly microbes; favours a rapid
development of fermentative and rhyzobial activity. For this reason the product is often used
as a root growth stimulant. A key feature of this activity is a generalised stimulation of fungal
activity. Because of this rapid effect, the product works extremely well as an inhibitor (bycompetitive exclusion) of fungal diseases. Keep an eye out for the new label coming out soon.

As you see from the above material, the applications for liquid products are extensive.
More information is available from Ken Bellamy at: kbellamy@vrm.com.au
A very Merry Christmas and a successful New Year to all ANOR members
Kind regards to you all

Gerry Gillespie