- Original Message -
From: Frank Teuton Subject: Trouble Brewing: Science, Compost Teas and
Organic Certification
Dear Frank and other brewers
When I attended Elaine Ingham's workshop two seasons ago I wondered how long
it would take the chemical industry to react to what she was doing. Looking
from a conventional (chemical using) farmers position the use of compost is
very limited in application particularly in broadacre operations. But here
was this lady telling us how to take a ton (or less) of good quality compost
add water and some cheap basic feedstock (sugar / molasses) and turn it into
a product we could use to replace thousands of dollars of fungicide and
insecticide and in the long run probably cut herbicide by at least half -
she had common sense, logic, and a stack of hard scientific evidence to back
every claim! While ever these type of advances are seen to be limited to the
organic or alternative agriculture cummunity there is no problem but when it
looks like moving into the mainstream and seriously affecting sales (which
the widespread use of compost teas would do) then the big guns swing into
actoion.
Dig deep (if you're brave enough) and you will find connections from these
researchers back to the multinational chemical companies
I have been informed in the last few days that the process of making
amplified aerobic microbial cultures starting with high quality compost,
aerated water and nutrients to create a high bacteria and fungal count
product useful in horticultural and agriculture has come under doubt, and
has been slated to be placed under 120 day restrictions similar to those
for
raw manure.
The reason proposed for this is supposedly that, under certain conditions,
a
nutrient solution will support growth of 'enteric pathogenic bacterial
organisms' such as E.coli and Salmonella spp.
I would very much like to see the specific details of the experiments
which
underly the judgment reached by the National Organic Standards Board
Compost
Task Force when it issued the following:
