[68vette]

This is an FYI for people who have used Green Mountain Compost this year. The bulk compost as well as the bagged compost and potting mix are contaminated with banned herbicides. Friends of the family could not get plants to germinate and the ones that did, ended up shriveling and dying. Our garden has been awesome, but we use our own compost. When they checked into why a garden a few hundred feet from their own was thriving while theirs was dead they saw the report on WCAX. From an article on how it happened:
How it got here
Clopyralid is used sometimes on farms and can contaminate feed stock, manure and other material brought from farms to composting centers.

Hay or feedstock contaminated with the herbicide might have been imported to Vermont, sold to farms, and then the farmers unwittingly (or wittingly) brought the contaminated compost to the solid waste district, Moreau said.

More disturbing, Moreau said, is that Picloram was found in grass clippings brought in for composting.

It is illegal to use Picloram on lawns. People also need a permit to use it, and the Vermont Department of Agriculture has no records of anyone obtaining a permit to apply Picloram.

In the future, the district will grow leafy vegetables in compost samples to see how they do before selling the material, Moreau said.

“We should also look at rules or legislation that puts stronger controls on importation of material into Vermont,” he said.

I feel that growing plants in compost to test if it is good or not is a joke. How about sending samples to a lab to be tested. We have people and some farms who buy compost from this company to grow produce to eat and sell at markets. We think even our own local grown produce is safe to eat and we have to worry about banned herbicides. I think Mr Moreau needs a reality check. Next time it could be pesticides in the compost and everything will grow just fine. Sorry, they charge a pretty penny for their product, they can at least have it lab tested from this point on. I think they should look into better control over bringing harmful material in-state, but the most disturbing part was not that the material was "possibly" bought in on contaminated hay, but Picloram was found in grass clipping from in state. We used to buy from them when the compost was produced at the Intervale, but with the solutions they have come up with to solve this problem, I will never give them another dime.

[harry chickpea]

Interesting. It does seem to be a fairly often reported problem. Breakdown is primarily by microbic action, according to various sources (state and environmental groups) and half life in supposedly soil is in line with other herbicides. I wonder how long the compost is held to mature before sale? It could be as simple a solution as allowing the compost a year to age (although that would drive prices up more.)

Generally, I find the glycophosphates are more than adequate, although they don't seem to touch canadian thistle and a few other stubborn invasives. Glycophosphate (when used around here in the minimal amounts needed) has never interfered with later growth. Currently, part of my drive has a wonderful crop of grass, even after a few applications last year...


As for testing, I'd want both methods. The proof is in the pudding and I would think a compost supplier would be plant testing on a regular basis anyway. We used to buy a bag or two of compost or cow manure down here, but I noticed VERY poor quality control a couple years back. Large amounts of sand, big sticks, enough stuff to make me stop being interested in it.

[68vette]

Don't get me wrong, I think plant testing is a good idea, but I doesn't ensure a pure or even a chemical free product.
I believe the reports were saying most of the compost was made between last fall and up until recently. Obviously the herbicide content was high enough to still kill plants.

[harry chickpea]

I agree with your general idea that testing for chemicals is important. I'm not one to give what I loosely call "eco-nuts" more than the time of day, because of their whinging about nonsense issues and the resultant DILUTION of focus that would otherwise occur on the real problems at hand. I AM concerned about legitimate problems that can be swept under the carpet (or forest floor), and I applaud your bringing this one forward.

[FrugalYankee]

They don't test this stuff before releasing it?!? And the charge money for it? For real? Come ON. If they don't test it then no one should even think of using it. Always ask about lab results before getting compost from your local solid waste district. This is unbelievable. We get compost down here for free and you better believe it gets tested. Shame on them!

[68vette]

There was an update this afternoon. Several other Vermont composting companies are testing their compost because of similar complaints. The Agency of Agriculture discovered that several of the composting plants share similar inputs (farms or businesses that send their animal or plant waste to multiple facilities).
Last night GMC's board of commissioners approved nearly $1 million for a take-back and refund program for unused compost, as well as refunds for the cost and delivery of bulk compost; refunds for contaminated compost already in use, once the presence of herbicides is confirmed; up to $8 in remediation per bag of used compost for affected gardeners, to cover the loss of seeds, plants, materials, labor and produce. This is a step in the right direction, but many like our neighbor refuse to consider growing produce in their soil. The compost was turned in and they have decided to replace a significant amount of soil. Not only financially costly, but they will never get paid for the labor put into their garden.
For those that like research: Nilsson, H. and A. Aamisepp. 1984. Persistence in plants and transfer of clopyralid (3,6- dichloropicolinic acid) through plant remains. Weeds and Weed Control. 25th Swedish Weed Conference. Vol. 1 Reports. Uppsala, Sweden. They found that plants were effected for three generations when clopyralid was composted.

[pauldorell]

I guess I'll stick with Moo Doo products. If they say it's organic, they can't have that crap in it. And it's a local business.

[68vette]

Originally Posted by pauldorell

I guess I'll stick with Moo Doo products. If they say it's organic, they can't have that crap in it. And it's a local business.

I didn't want to mention company names, but Moo Doo is on of the compost companies the Agency of Agriculture wants testing done on. They share inputs with GMC. There were similar complaints, but on a smaller scale.

[pauldorell]

Originally Posted by 68vette

I didn't want to mention company names, but Moo Doo is on of the compost companies the Agency of Agriculture wants testing done on. They share inputs with GMC. There were similar complaints, but on a smaller scale.

Moo Doo's website claims that "our MOO™ products have gone through a strict review by NOFA (a leading organic products organization) and have been approved for commercial and home organic use." They don't say whether they have ongoing tests.

[68vette]

Originally Posted by pauldorell

Moo Doo's website claims that "our MOO™ products have gone through a strict review by NOFA (a leading organic products organization) and have been approved for commercial and home organic use." They don't say whether they have ongoing tests.

I'm not sure what type of testing they do, but The Agency of Agriculture has received complaints about Moo-Doo. There is brief reference in this article. Blurt: The Seven Days Staff Blog: Green Mountain Compost to Dole Out Compensation for Contaminated Compost They don't claim to be "certified organic" as far as I'm aware. If they sell more than $5000 worth of product, they need to be to claim that title. The organic title can be very confusing. There are several different levels of organic (which makes no sense to me, you either are or your not as far as I'm concerned). You can be "100% Organic", where 100% of your product is organic, you can be "Organic", where 95% of your product is organic or you can be "Made with Organic Ingredients", where at least 70% of you product is organic.
We sell organic garlic and the process we have to go through to prove our garlic is 100% organic is strict (because of our size operation, we luckily don't have to pay the expensive yearly certification fee). This includes all our compost as well. We fertilize with our chicken manure, and we have to feed our birds an organic feed. Not only does the feed have to be organic, but so does the shavings and the straw used in the nesting boxes. Everything that we possibly think about composting. We even have to order organic lawn fertilizer as well as pest control.
FYI, if anyone would like to know where to get the best fertilizers or pest controls, send me a DM. These products work better than the chemicals you can buy and they are 100% safe. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to mention specific products on the forum.