The Composter Podcast Jayne Merner

When I was at the US Compost Conference last winter, I met Lisa of Juneau Composts and my 'cool gal' radar went off. Her vibe shouted competent. Lisa is the real deal, collecting food scraps and making compost with very little support in the tough climate of Alaska. It was fascinating to talk to Lisa about the struggles of composting in this harsh environment and her ingenuity. I've been following Juneau Composts for a few years, back when it was a one-woman, scrappy enterprise and I swell with pride every time I see a post about new employees or record collection amounts.
Contact Jayne at info@earthcarefarm.com
Follow Earth Care Farm on Instagram and YouTube
Folks who make this show possible...
Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Viably. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you.
The Culinary Breeding Network's Variety Showcase for plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, comsumers, and more, on October 16th in NY. GET TICKETS HERE!
High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here.
The Marbleseed 5th Organic Farming Conference (formerly known as MOSES) is February 22-24, 2024. 

James McSweeney, of The 131 School of Composting and author of Community-Scale Composting, and I jammed so well about what The 131 School is about—particularly the compost operators certificate program—his book, and his vision of composting in the future. James then turns the tables on me and asked me questions about Austria’s model of composting. At some point, we forgot we were being recorded, the conversation just flows until we remember we had prior engagements. Classic. I can’t get enough of the knowledgable composting community. We are learning so much from one another.
Contact Jayne at info@earthcarefarm.com
Follow Earth Care Farm on Instagram and YouTube
Folks who make this show possible...
Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Viably. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you.
The Culinary Breeding Network's Variety Showcase for plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, comsumers, and more, on October 16th in NY. GET TICKETS HERE!
High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here.
The Marbleseed 5th Organic Farming Conference (formerly known as MOSES) is February 22-24, 2024. 

When Austria banned organics from the waste stream in '92, Ursula was--in part--tasked with how to divert organic waste from going to the landfill. In '96, she conducted an analysis of the waste stream. Yes, she personally dawned gloves and sorted through many samples of trash. 24% of her community's waste was organics (or what she calls "Biowaste"). Once she showed that data, and could project the savings that could be had, she had to figure out how to implement a plan to compost it. You'll get to hear how upper Austria has some of the cleanest streams of biowaste heading to farm composters, with Gerald and Karen, composting on a family farm.
Mentioned in the show...
Photos (via Google Drive)
Folks who make this show possible...
Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Viably. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you.
The Culinary Breeding Network's Variety Showcase for plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, comsumers, and more, on October 16th in NY. GET TICKETS HERE!
High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here.
The Marbleseed 5th Organic Farming Conference (formerly known as MOSES) is February 22-24, 2024. 

On our International Solid Waste Association study tour on decentralized bio waste recycling—or just the compost scene—in Austria, we visited 3-er Hof Farm, Farm 3, and spoke with second generation composter Verena. Her families farm is an inspiring mix of compost production, crop production, and social connection with people of all abilities and ages. Instead of an interview, I recorded the lecture given at Farm 3. You’ll hear from Verena about Farm 3 and then from Florian, who organized the study tour, about how compost collection works. It’s a system of collecting and processing that works well in a semi-rural area.
Find out more about Earth Care Farm and follow Jayne's work...
Guest/topic recommendations -> info@earthcarefarm.com
Follow Earth Care Farm on Instagram
Subscribe to Earth Care Farm on YouTube
Mentioned in the show...
2023_ISWA_ST-Biowaste_Booklet.pdf Folks who make this show possible...
Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Viably. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you.
The Culinary Breeding Network's Variety Showcase for plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, comsumers, and more, on October 16th in NY. GET TICKETS HERE!
High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here.
The Marbleseed 5th Organic Farming Conference (formerly known as MOSES) is February 22-24, 2024. 

Most of you all know and love Karl Hammer from Vermont Compost (IG VermontCompost) already. If you’re looking for a concise “how-to” guide on how Karl makes his awesome compost, and even better known potting soil, this is not that interview. Karl is known for his verbose and winding stories that mostly answer the question given, but always entertain. There is a richness in speaking with someone like Karl with a lifetime of experience. So, prepare yourself for a deep and fertile conversation full of expert level nuggets
Find out more about Earth Care Farm and follow Jayne's work...
Guest/topic recommendations -> info@earthcarefarm.com
Follow Earth Care Farm on Instagram
Subscribe to Earth Care Farm on YouTube
Mentioned in the show...
Farmers of Forty Centuries by F. H. King
The Physics of Agriculture by F. H. King
The 131 School of Composting
The Bionutrient Food Association
Folks who make this show possible...
Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Viably. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you.
The Culinary Breeding Network's Variety Showcase for plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, comsumers, and more, on October 16th in NY. GET TICKETS HERE!
High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here.
Xsense provides home safety and environmental monitoring products for your peace of mind.

Today, I'm in Austria, joined by Dr. Martin Wellacher. Martin is uber committed to the environment, as most of us in this industry are eco-conscious, but he is next-level. He doesn't even own a car. So, he needed to plan to meet, traveling by bus and by bike just to get to us. After a tour of the Komptech facilities and a tasty locally-sourced lunch, we had a rich conversation about his 30 years in the compost industry, starting out just when legislation was passed requiring household organics to be separated back in '92, where many states are just starting right now. At the time, he worked with universities doing research and with Komptech developing technology and research for the compost industry. He now has his own engineering and consulting firm. Not everywhere has a layout like Austria, where the highly populated urban areas are very close to the farms, but there are a lot of places that are like that, like where I am in New England. There is a lot that we can learn from Austria's last 30 years that we can glean and apply to our own homes and towns and states.
Folks who make this show possible...
Optimize commercial compost production while maintaining high-quality with Komptech. Use our link here to learn more, get a consultation, and let them know we sent you.
The Culinary Breeding Network's Variety Showcase for plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, comsumers, and more, on October 16th in NY. GET TICKETS HERE!
High Country News is an independent, non-profit, publication covering the land, wildlife, and communities of the Western US for over 50+ years. Check them out using our link here.
Xsense provides home safety and environmental monitoring products for your peace of mind.