Two New Bills Introduced in North Carolina

The NC Composting Council, USCC’s North Carolina Chapter, has drafted two bills on compost and healthy soils that have been introduced in the North Carolina House of Representatives.

HB 637, the Compost Procurement Act, was introduced by Representative John Ager (D-Buncombe County) on April 21, 2021 and has 20 co-sponsors. This sct builds awareness of the important role of the composting industry in NC by providing guidance for state and local governments to purchase compost for use in agriculture, landscaping and infrastructure projects, and to buy back compost from compost contractors.

It also provides reimbursement to NC farmers who use compost to raise crops. Not only would this bill help create and support long-term, stable markets for compost produced in NC (a growing industry and job creator), but it also provides the impetus for local governments to move toward more cost-effective, sustainable and regenerative practices. Similarly, the shift toward regenerative agriculture practices can take time to build soils naturally and move away from typical synthetic chemical inputs. This act would support farmers during that transition time.

HB 798, The North Carolina Healthy Soils Act, was introduced by Rep. John Ager (D-Buncombe County) on May 3, 2021 and has 21 co-sponsors. This act recognizes that soil health encompasses the overall composition and fertility of soil; it includes the amount of organic matter and water-holding capacity of soil and creates the capacity of soil to function as a vital biological system that sustains plants, animals, and humans. Supporting healthy soils is necessary for the continuous production of diverse food, fiber and other agricultural crops. Goals of this act include, but are not limited to, improving agricultural viability, farm profitability, food nutrition, and to support more stable climate conditions. This act recognizes that compost can provide all of these benefits and will establish a fund within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to administer the Healthy Soils Program. Funds may be used by the Department for grants, research, technical assistance, educational material, and outreach to farmers whose management practices will contribute to healthy soils and watersheds. It is also notable that in the proposed bipartisan federal Agriculture Resilience Act (ARA) is a stipulation that a state must have a healthy soils program in order to receive federal funding.

-Submitted by North Carolina Board Member/LEAC representative Carl Sigel