US Composting Council Awarded $4.4 Million Grant for Innovative Compost Application Trials

Last month, the USCC was awarded a grant of $4.4 million as part of the USDA's 2023 Conservation Innovation Grants. This significant investment will fund the "Comparative and Ongoing Compost Application Trials to Guide and Incentivize Best Use" project, aimed at enhancing compost application practices across diverse agricultural systems.

Our industry has long known about the benefits of compost application on soil health and water-holding capacity. Whereas good data does exist to support these claims, more data, guidance, and information dissemination will only bolster our industry even more and further promote compost use. Soil health is a key component of our mission and we are emboldened by this dedication of funds to assist with solidifying compost’s connection to conserving our soil.

Project Overview

The USCC will lead this initiative in collaboration with top researchers and implementation partners across three states: California, Colorado, and Washington. The project will conduct 88 Soil Health Demonstration trials to evaluate the environmental, economic, and social benefits of compost application. These trials will take place across various soil types, compost types/rates, and production systems.

Key objectives of the project include the following:

• Assessing the impact of compost on soil carbon, water-holding capacity, and overall soil health.
• Developing accessible compost application guidance for producers and technical assistance providers.
• Informing potential updates to the NRCS guidance related to Conservation Practice Standard 336.
• Providing interoperable data to improve the DayCent and MEMS models.

Through these comprehensive trials, we aim to demonstrate the agronomic, social and environmental benefits of compost, ultimately guiding best practices and incentivizing wider adoption of compost use in agriculture.

To see the full list of our grant partners, click the link below.

https://cig.sc.egov.usda.gov/impact/conservation-innovation-grants-awards-fiscal-year-2023

This grant could not have been possible without the immense support from our members. While this is a major accomplishment to celebrate, this only motivates us even more to grow our industry and accomplish the USCC’s ultimate goal in advancing compost manufacturing, compost utilization and organics recycling to benefit our members, society and the environment.