{"id":23063,"date":"2024-12-18T08:04:25","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T13:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ilsr.org\/?post_type=article&p=23063"},"modified":"2024-12-18T08:04:25","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T13:04:25","slug":"maryland-farmer-workshop-to-serve-as-part-of-national-replicable-model","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/ilsr.org\/es\/article\/composting-for-community\/maryland-farmer-workshop-to-serve-as-part-of-national-replicable-model","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Farmer Workshop to Serve as Part of National Replicable Model"},"template":"","class_list":["post-23063","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_type-article","initiatives-composting-for-community","topics-on-farm-composting","impact_areas-resilient-cities-and-metros"],"acf":{"details":{"featured_image":23064,"background_color":"tan","article_type":[134],"initiative":15,"display_event_fields":false,"start_date":null,"end_date":null,"start_time":null,"end_time":null,"time_zone":"America\/New_York","virtual_event":false,"location":"","topics":[99],"impact_areas":[22],"abstract":"The first hands-on food waste composting workshop of the new Montgomery County Master Composter Training Program was held at the Agricultural History Farm Park\u2019s Composting Education Hub (CEH) in Derwood, MD. This program is being designed as a replicable model with two tracks, one for farmers and one for gardeners.\u00a0","authors_tax":false},"sidebar":{"title":"\u00cdndice"},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

The Inaugural Composting Education Hub Workshop<\/h2>\r\nOn December 7, the first hands-on food waste composting workshop of the new Montgomery County Master Composter Training Program was held at the Agricultural History Farm Park\u2019s <\/span>Composting Education Hub<\/span><\/a> (CEH) in Derwood, MD. This program is being designed as a replicable model with two tracks, one for farmers and one for gardeners.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nHosted by ILSR and Montgomery County Office of Agriculture, and led by Thomas Fazio, Compost Manager at ECO City Farms, the December workshop focused on the fundamentals of food scrap composting for small to medium farms and featured the CEH\u2019s solar-powered Aerated Static Pile 3-bin composting system. Participants included farmers from across Montgomery County, representatives from the Maryland Department of the Environment, the University of Maryland, and food systems and zero waste initiatives.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe 3-hour in-person workshop<\/span> covered best management practices for food waste composting, the basics of on-farm composting, system siting, design, and management, as well as troubleshooting. For the hands-on portion, participants built a pile in the CEH\u2019s solar-powered ASP 3-bin system, incorporating food waste provided by <\/span>Manna Food Center <\/span><\/a>(a local food bank, distribution center, and nutrition education space) and practiced bulk density measurements. <\/span>In order to provide a baseline knowledge of composting principles and make the most of the in-person time, participants were provided access to part of <\/span>Curso en l\u00ednea certificado \u00abCompostaje comunitario 101\u00bb del ILSR<\/span><\/a> upon registration.<\/span>","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_image_grid","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_image_grid":{"repeater":false,"images":[23067,23066,23065],"images_repeater":null,"ratio":"normal","width":"full"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

The Benefits of Composting in Maryland<\/b><\/h2>\r\nMontgomery County, Maryland <\/span>is estimated<\/span> to throw away 97,000 tons of wasted food<\/a> every year, representing an enormous waste of resources, nutrients, and potential economic value. At the same time, the County has identified <\/span>backyards, gardens, and farms<\/span><\/a> as promising venues to expand local composting capacity and assist in diverting food from disposal.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nComposting recycles nutrients and organic matter to create a product that can be used to improve soil quality to support local food production. On farms, composting can help to manage farm residuals, manures, and animal mortalities, but food scraps from off-site can be used to improve composting recipes. Composting at gardens and on farms can facilitate access to high-quality compost, which when added to soil has the following benefits:<\/span>\r\n