New Grassroots Software Results in Outpouring of Support for Financial Reimbursement for Farm Compost Use

USCC invested this year in a new grassroots software platform, Capitol Canary, to fast-track the increasing number of federal and state calls to action on compost legislation and regulations.

Launched in May, the platform got its first “workout” in June with a current Call to Action on Carbon Soil Code 336 (which is still open-comment until June 16). To date, we have already facilitated the sending of 200 plus support notes to the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service through the platform, to be listed on the Federal Register. (The map shows in green the states where advocates are active; the darker the green, the more advocates).

Carbon Soil Code 336 proposes adding compost and biochar as Conservation Practices for financial assistance for farmers across the country. Including compost application as a qualified NRCS Conservation Practice Standard began in California in 2015 with formal field trials which tracked effects of a half-inch application of compost on rangelands across the state. Following these trials in California, NRCS added compost as Interim Practice 808. This enabled further testing of compost on farm and rangeland and added compost to a number of other Conservation Practices for which farmers and ranchers can apply for federal financial assistance, such as no-till and crop rotation.
 
Over the course of 2021, 10 other states added it as an interim practice. At the request of Vermont, biochar was added to Interim Practice 808. At the national level, USDA held a public comment period for Interim Practice 808 in 2020-21 to prepare for eligibility as a national reimbursement program. USDA has now modified the original 808 Interim Practice as a new standard called “Conservation Practice Standard Soil Carbon Amendment Code 336,” revising it based on the comments received on the interim 808 practice.
 
We at USCC submitted several comments in 2020-21 during the Interim Practice 808 addressing compost application. NRCS amended the interim practice with our comments to be part of the proposed Code 336. We provided guidance on compost maturity and stability definitions, nutrient management considerations, and recommendations for application of high lignin and cellulose carbon amendments.