We go visit farmers, and ask 10 questions, and then make a video ...
We begin our "Who's Your Farmer?" series with a different kind of farmer ... a "garbage" farmer.
Well, to be fair, it's not conventional garbage, or compost, we're talking about. This is organic "craft compost", and it's {going to be} the best thing you can use in your garden or farm.
Keri and I visited Hop Compost in Calgary, AB, and spoke with Kevin Davies, the founder.
Watch the YouTube video interview with Kevin - and prepare yourself - you will learn things about compost, compost fertilizer, and conventional fertilizer you haven't heard before!
The amazing process which Kevin and the team at Hop Compost have devised is the stuff of legends. In fact, we believe that hop compost is at the forefront of a new organic compost and fertilizer era.
A FEW FACTS
Since 2015, their debut year, Hop Compost has diverted 2,029,000 pounds of waste from local landfills. This has saved over 5,200,000 pounds of emissions, 65,000 cubic feet of land, and 507,000 liters of water.
HOP compost has 7.6 times the nutrient value compared to conventional compost.
Using a closed loop of organic farmers and vendors ensures Hop Compost's top quality
Grow Calgary - the largest urban farm in Canada - by using Hop Compost announced their crop yields are rising enough to be able to donate an additional 1125 meals to food banks
Canada's large cities will soon run out of landfill space:
Calgary has 18 years left
Vancouver has 4 years left
Toronto has 0 years -a they transport their garbage to Michigan
1/3 of most landfills are comprised of COMPOSTABLE material
Conventional FERTILIZER
Is poisonous to animals and humans
Has been proven to be toxic atmospherically*
Areas which use high amounts of conventional chemical fertilizer have an increase in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma & brain cancer*
Heavy use of chemical fertilizer pollutes the air much like smoking*
".. I would say organic is possible...a lot of people have been making the same purchase decisions that they’ve just inherited through generations. It seems like a natural move to go into a green center and buy a chemical fertilizer .."
Please watch the video and read the transcribed interview below.
MFRFI: What do you do here at Hop Compost?
Kevin:
"Hop Compost is Canada’s first inner-city compost facility to collect food scraps from the city's leading food merchants, and we transform it into the highest nutrient organic compost in the country. 1 (one) bag of hop farmers can get the nutrients of 7.6 bags of standard compost."MFRF I: Why or how did you start HOP?
Kevin:
"I ran a recycling company called Green Start for 6 years. Through recycling with Green Start I became very familiar with the waste industry.So across Canada all of our major cities are projected to run out of landfill space within 20 years.
In Calgary we have about 18 years of landfill space left, Vancouver has 4, and Toronto is already out of landfill space and is shipping into Michigan. The underlying issue there is about 1/3 of landfills are comprised of compostable waste. It’s a big, kind of 'waste target', that needs to be addressed that historically has really lagged in the country. That tipped my interest; but the real point of action for me was that my family dog was poisoned by fertilizer in our garden when he was 2. He accidentally ingested some fertilizer in the strawberry patch, and he was ultimately nursed back to health, but it was an eye opening experience for me; in just recognizing the danger of using poison to grow our food.
So, I started researching organic fertilizer alternatives and I was just disappointed by the performance of products on the market and wanted to create a high nutrient organic option for people wanted healthy people and plants, but healthy pets as well. I think that we can harmonize all those things to have gardens that are holistically beneficial."
".. the real point of action for me was that my family dog was poisoned by fertilizer in our garden when he was 2.so he accidentally ingested some fertilizer in the strawberry patch, and he was ultimately nursed back to health, but it was an eye opening experience .."
MFRFI: What sets you apart from other composters?
Kevin:
"Oh a lot - yes! I would say that Hop is the first true "craft compost".We’ve delved into ingredient sourcing to ensure that we have top quality materials turning into the system, our recipe we have really tight control on, as opposed to it just being a mass public waste drop off. But the thing that sets us apart the most is our “clean tech”. As opposed to our compost just being food rotting outside, it’s all contained within sealed and computerized vessels that track compost data every 60 seconds, and then automate the compost environment based on the live data to ensure that we have a perfect breakdown of materials.
So because of the automation, in addition to all of the art and the recipe, there's a lot that distinguishes Hop from conventional compost .
Our nutrient values is much higher, pathogen value is much lower, the product is far more consistent; so taken together and the results are pretty unique.
Our first delivery of compost went to Grow Calgary, which is the largest urban farm in Canada, they announced their crop yields are rising enough to to donate an additional 1125 meals to the food bank over the next 12 months alone."
"Our nutrient values is much higher, pathogen value is much lower, the product is far more consistent; so put them together and the results are pretty unique."
MFRFI: Why compost?
Kevin:
"Why compost? The waste comparative, the food growth comparative, I think that compost has the potential to the next big catalyst for the local food movement.We've seen a big push for farm-to-table food sourcing, but I think the next push needs to be table-to-farm, a returning of food scraps.
I think that by unifying that cycle in one closed loop that's when we will have a truly regenerative local food system, which is what we need to see in order to support organic food growth for the future."
MFRFI: Direct sell and Mass Markets
Kevin:
"Well, we do use retailers so, Hop Compost will have a couple thousand packages through retailers so that house-hold gardeners can access the product.We want to ensure that we have good farmers in our closed loop. Ideally the way that Hop Compost will function is to have food merchants being supplied by the same farmers that we supply into. And we’re able to control that to some extent through our direct sales. So, be it organizations like Grow Calgary that are supported by Market - that’s their lead sponsor - Market is one of our suppliers of food waste. Or be it the YYC Growers who work with many of the urban farms in Calgary.
Together we can hopefully build a food system that looks nice, and is really functional from an environment perspective."
".. I would caution people in using composts that don't have a great degree of quality control. I think that conventionally we've seen al to of compost on the market that are made with invalidate ingredients with an invalidated process. Kind of mystery materials rotting outside without the proper variation going into the products like moonshine.."
MFRFI: What's the one thing you would change in 'conventional' farming and gardening?
Kevin:
"In conventional farming? Garden fertilizer use.When I was doing research following Willy’s poisoning on fertilizer, the one thing that really shocked me was that the risk of fertilizer isn't just in ingesting it, the risk in fertilizer is also atmospheric.
In areas with intense fertilizer use, peer reviewed scientific studies have shown that there is a 2 times increase in Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which is a blood cancer, and there is a 6.7 times increase in brain cancer. Being in an area with intense fertilizer use is the equivalent to being in an area with intense smoking.
There's an atmospheric risk that needs to be addressed, and I think that fertilizer is a smart mid-century innovation, but our modern science has moved so far beyond that we need to see how it’s reflected in the kind of products that are used to sustain plant growth."
MFRFI:How do you see the current market, and how has it changed?
Kevin:
"For Compost? I think that the current market for compost is often characterized by mass compost from municipal sources. I commend the waste version of municipalities taking on composting, it’s necessary to save materials from the land fills.But I would caution people in using composts that don't have a great degree of quality control.
I think that conventionally we've seen a lot of compost on the market that are made with un-validated ingredients with an un-validated process. Kind of mystery materials rotting outside, without the proper variation going into the products it's like moonshine. You know, hypothetically you can get away with using it, but it might not have the desired result.
I would encourage an increase in regulations on the composting market and for people to be savvy with what they’re using.
Compost is something that ultimately everyone can make, which is great, but perhaps the ease of conventional compost can be supplemented by by the craft of the compost like Hop Compost. Which will deliver better results and overcome any potential concerns with salmonella and Ecol-li from a health perspective, and soluble salts and Ph from a growth perspective."
".. Hop Compost will cost approximately $180 per cubic yard depending on the volume that is being purchased conventional compost might be $60 per cubic yard but you’d need to purchase 7 times more than you would with Hop .."
MFRFI: What are your goals and/or visions?
Kevin:
"Hop Compost's vision is to create a closed loop for every major city across North America. We started here in Calgary, this is our headquarters. We’ve since had a zoning change pass to create the country's second inner-city compost facility in Vancouver. I’ve been traveling back and forth a lot - which is really exciting, but we’re growing really rapidly. There's been a huge demand for the product and we’re just trying to produce as much as we can to actually catch up with the sales interest.After Vancouver we’ll likely look at Toronto, then from there the sky’s the limit."
MFRFI: Why should people buy Hop Compost?
Kevin:
"Hop Compost has exceptional nutrient value both from a conventional MPK perspective, also just looking at the organic matter and biology of Hop Compost it’s going to be literally the best option on the market for compost - and that's by 3rd party lab standards. We can hand over any kind of assessment of our compost and it will be the industry lead. If people are interested in the performance of their farm, I suggest it.Its also economic option because of the nutrient value . Hop Compost will cost approximately $180 per cubic yard depending on the volume that is being purchased, conventional compost might be $60 per cubic yard but you’d need to purchase 7 times more than you would with Hop Compost. By shrinking your order size by a seventh it’s the economic option in addition to being a high performance option.
The safety of Hop Compost, from a health and environmental perspective, is also really amazing. This is a fertilizer alternative so clean you can eat without issue.
So, I would say its likely the best option for people who are concerned with the health of their children or their pets that may be exposed to the growing area that they have around their homes.
MFRFI: If you had one thing to say to the consumer what would it be?
Kevin:
"One thing to say to the consumer; I would say organic is possible.That a lot of people have been making the same purchase decisions that they’ve just inherited through generations. It seems like a natural move to go into a garden center and buy a chemical fertilizer.
I think that to an increase and an extent, we see organic seeds, organic compost; just all sorts of different organic approaches becoming readily accessible to the consumer - and I would encourage that transition as a possible thing that can be brought to a hobby farm, a household garden, a large-scale farm.
I think organic is becoming increasingly possible and increasingly affordable."
".. The safety of Hop Compost, from a health and environmental perspective, is also really amazing. This is a fertilizer alternative so clean you can eat without issue.
So, I would say its likely the best option for people who are concerned with the health of their children and their pets that may be exposed to the growing area they may be around they homes.."
No comments:
Post a Comment