S&mp mar apr '15 final

March / April 2015

Vol. IX No. 1

Serving Soil, Mulch, Compost & Wood Pellet Producers www.SoilandMulchProducerNews.com

Attention Readers !

Are you looking for Products, Equipment or Services for your business? If so, please check out these leading companies advertised in this issue: Bagging / Wrapping Systems Amadas Industries – pg 22 Hamer LLC – pg 7 Nova Packaging LLC – Insert PremierTech Chronos – pg 15

Blower Trucks & Trailers Peterson – pg 5

Buildings & covers ClearSpan – pg 21

Compost Equipment/spreaders Ecolawn Applicator – pg 8 HCL Machine Works – pg 21

erosion Control JRM Chemical – pg 8

Mulch Coloring Equipment/ Colorants AgriCoatings – pg 13 Amerimulch – pg 10 BASF / Colorbiotics – pg 17 CMC – pg 6 Earth Shades – pg 14 Prism Corporation – pg 9

Shredders, Grinders, Chippers & Screening Systems Bandit Industries Inc – pg 19 Ecoverse – pg 16 Komptech USA – pg 24 Morbark Inc – pg 2 Neuenhauser – pg 12 Peterson – pg 5 Premier Tech Chronos – pg 15 Rotochopper Inc – pg 23 Screen Machine Industries – pg 11 West Salem Machinery – pg 14

Trommel Brushes

United Rotary Brush Corp – pg 21

wear parts

King Kong Tools – pg 6

NEWS

rs e r u t c a f u n a h t M w h o c l r u G M y d d a e Color Slow, Ste Market Show holesale in W

By Todd Williams

C

iting an upward trend in the housing market and more cash to spend on home improvement, most manufacturers of both natural mulch and the colored variety are seeing steady sales growth in U.S. markets.

They go on to indicate, however, that the rising cost of feedstock, mulch grinding, screening, colorizing equipment and dyes, combined with flat wholesale pricing, may be forcing some of the smaller mulch players out of the business and keeping some would-be entrepreneurs from even entering the market.

Robert LaGasse, Executive Director of the Mulch & Soil Council calls the overall growth of the colored mulch industry “enormous” since the product was introduced over 20 years ago.

LaGasse adds, that at least half of all the mulch is colorized, noting that pines, hardwoods and cypress are all being colored. He notes that the technologies for colorizing mulch, as well as the colorants themselves, have improved over the years, and provide a value added treatment to mulch.

He also explains that part of the growth of colored mulch comes from the fact that industry safety testing has proven again and again that the color dyes used are very safe for the environment, including animals and humans. Essentially, experts say, the dyes are made from ferric oxide and carbon black. “These materials come in well below the EPA warning levels. They were tested in experiments similar to the cosmetic industry,” adds LaGasse.

“When we started manufacturing our own colored mulch about three years ago, we doubled

the size of our business overnight,” says Beau Gibney, president of Green Vision Materials, a Newbury, Ohio mulch maker.

“There’s plenty of room for a larger mulch producer to expand. In part, this is because some of the smaller guys are dropping out of the business, thereby providing us with more opportunity,” Gibney notes.

Gibney, who started in the business 25 years ago as a landscaper, began making his own product about 12 years ago. He notes that his overall mulch business has continued to double in size every three years, with the biggest growth occurring in bagged mulch products.

“So far natural mulch has outsold colored mulch in the bulk sales. However, colored mulch has way outsold natural mulch in bags. In fact, 80 percent of our product is sold in two cubicfoot bags at Lowes and Home Depot stores within a 180-mile radius of our facility,” he explains and adds that his bulk mulch deliveries are within 20 miles of the plant.

According to Gibney, the most popular colors sold (by percentage) are black at 60 percent, brown at 35 percent, and red at five percent.

Ja m e s H a l l o c k , Vi c e P re s i d e n t o f AgriCoatings, a Lebenon, Tennessee-based colorant manufacturer, agrees with Gibney, noting that the most popular colors in the Northeast and Midwest are brown and black, with red dominating the South. Although AgriCoatings makes a gold color, it is still a very small part of the growing color market, he adds.

Green Vision, according to Gibney, now Continued on page 3

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PUBLICATION STAFF Publisher / Editor Rick Downing Contributing Editors / Writers Todd Williams Sandy Woodthorpe Production & Layout Barb Fontanelle Christine Pavelka Advertising Sales Rick Downing Subscription / Circulation Donna Downing Editorial, Circulation & Advertising Office 6075 Hopkins Road Mentor, OH 44060 Ph: 440-257-6453 Fax: 440-257-6459 Email: downassoc2@oh.rr.com For subscription information, please call 440-257-6453.

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Mulch Producer NEWS

Colored Mulch Manufacturers Show Slow, Steady Growth in Wholesale Market Continued from page 1

produces about 40,000 cubic yards of natural mulch and 136,000 cubic yards of colored mulch per year, at a rate of 300 cubic yards per hour, out of his older equipment. The colorizing machine uses about 400,000 pounds of colorant per year.

In order to ramp up colorizing efficiency, Gibney has ordered a new mulch coloring system, employing a state-of-the-art computermonitoring module, that will help control costs by eliminating waste.

Gibney and others interviewed point out that streamlining mulch-coloring operations with more efficient equipment is one of the keys to success in this fluctuating market. Start up costs for a new operation vary depending on the type and capacity of equipment purchased.

Colorizers can cost as much as $200,000, and grinders and other necessary equipment can range from $100,000 to three quarters of a million dollars. For existing mulch producing businesses, a simple colorizing unit with spray bars and pump, will cost between $10,000 and $20,000, depending on the size the operation.

According to Kent Rotert, National Sales manager for BASF Corp., an Ames, Iowa-based colorant manufacturer, people looking to setup a new mulch business will probably spend between $75,000 and $400,000, on average.

BASF sells colorizing equipment as well as dye.

“Fly-by-nighters out there often fail in this business even if they have the equipment.

And this failure is usually caused by a lack of a business plan and the failure to lock-in a good, consistent source of wood,” Rotert notes.

He further explains that a comprehensive business plan has to take into account the cost of wood feedstock availability, fuel costs and employee costs, as well as market demand for the mulch.

Assuming that a comprehensive business plan is in place, a consistent supply of wood is available, and equipment has been purchased, the would be colored-mulch producer should also scrutinize his selection of a colorant manufacturer before committing.

According to Kevin Fenelon, Senior Manager of Sales & Marketing, Prism Corp., St. Paul, Minn., another colorant manufacturer, it’s critical to the mulch operation to wisely choose a colorant source, because “over time the colorants will have a larger impact on the cost of the operation. In other words, once the colorizer is paid for, colorants will be needed for years to come.”

Fenelon points out that the colorant supplier selected will play a significant role in the profitability of the operation.

There are seven key requirements for mulch colorants, says Fenelon. They are: 1) environmentally safe; 2) a good variety of attractive colors; 3) efficient rate of coverage; 4) colorants that don’t settle hard and mix-up easily; 5) good binder system that allow the colored

mulch, once dry, to resist rain and lasts the full season or more; 6) timely availability of product in totes and drums; 7) good customer service.

Because of the short mulch season and the frenetic pace during this time, any problems with one or more of these seven key requirements can spell trouble for the mulch producer. Fenelon suggests that colored mulch makers should look at multiple colorant suppliers and use both price and performance capabilities “to determine the level of actual value of each product.” All this, he says, has a major effect on the bottom line of any mulch business.

Hallock adds that he feels the ability of a colorant to resist the “wash off ” or wearing off in the rain, is the single most important property a mulch producer looks for in colorants.

“Will the colored mulch survive the spring rains? That’s the key,” says Hallock.

BASF’s Rotert says because of the increasing demand for colored mulch, more people have gotten into the production. But this influx of new players has kept a ceiling on prices, resulting in less overall profit.

“The bigger players are buying more wood and colorizing more wood. They are purchasing more and larger equipment that is more efficient and computerized,” he explains.

Hallock agrees with Rotert, saying that the colorant industry’s wholesale prices have stabilized since they spiked about four years ago. He adds that AgriColor has seen a steady growth in sales, about 30 percent, every year for the past five years.

For many mulch producers, finding a good supply of feedstock is as important as getting good prices for the colorants.

Gibney recalls that finding a reliable source of wood was critical to starting his fledgling business, and still remains critical for growth.

“The biggest challenge we had when we started colorizing mulch,” he recalls, “was locating enough feedstock to supply this rapidly growing segment of our market. We had to go on an aggressive campaign to acquire the wood, including buying from land clearing companies, tree service businesses, the pallet industry and some municipalities.

For Jason Brunk, owner of Tri-State Landscaping Supply, Middletown, Ohio, finding a source of wood for his mulch operation was fairly easy. Brunk owned an excavation company since 1994. In 2009 he bought out another mulch company and started grinding the trees he cleared in his excavation business.

He initially started processing about 35,000 cubic yards per year and now processes about 125,000 cubic yards. Seventy five percent of all his mulch is colorized, with black being the most popular color. The wood is ground-up at the land-clearing site, and then shipped to the mulch processing plant, where it is ground-up again and Continued on page 4

March / April 2015 Soil & Mulch Producer News

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Colored Mulch Manufacturers Show Slow, Steady Growth in Wholesale Market Continued from page 3

the bio-energy market, especially in the Southeast. This has led to more colorized. Brunk says he will accept green waste at the facility, but that the and more green waste being used for mulch production. majority of the mulch he makes comes from hardwoods.

Although mulch industry experts know hardwoods are a preferable Brunk recalls when he started processing mulch, his business grew substrate, green waste can be used if properly processed. Case in point: A rapidly. Now, he says that explosive growth has slowed somewhat, but is major theme park in Florida that Stewart is consulting with to produce still very steady. its own colored mulch, to be used on site.

“I think the business has grown in my area because more land is being Stewart explains this park composts all of its green waste, including cleared for housing developments. This gives us resources for wood, as well tree, food and animal waste. Once composted this green waste leaves “high as new customers for our mulch,” he explains. carbon residuals” that become a major waste problem, due to the fact this Although he’s seen tremendous growth in the mulch industry, and material constitutes about 20 percent of the mass. especially for colored mulch, Rick Hogan, Wood Waste Recycling Manager The solution to the problem, explains Stewart, is to remove all the for S&S Tree & Landscaping Specialists, South St. Paul, Minnesota, says screened-out waste, like sticks and twigs, then run that material through he’s starting to see a downward trend in colored mulch sales over the past a processor where a specially formulated hybrid dye is added through a two years. S&S started as a tree service company when in 2001 the owners, computer controlled process. Thus, all the green waste is converted into according to Hogan, got tired of paying to dispose of their wood and decorative mulch, colored “spring brown.” Because of a filmy, dusty started chipping and dyeing the waste. substance on the green waste, that caused color adhesion problems, the As the business grew, says Hogan, specialized grinding and colorizing hybrid dye has a new enhanced chemical formulation to make it adhere equipment was purchased and the mulch business grew. And, not only did to the mulch.

S&S grind its own wood, it also allowed other tree service companies to “In general,” says Stewart, “correct dye formulation is critical in adding drop off wood chips to make even more mulch. But, S&S has been careful the proper amount of dye to the substrate. to use only virgin timber as feedstock to ensure Incorrect formulation risks financial exposure the highest quality mulch.

“Anybody getting into to the mulch producer.”

In the beginning, according to Hogan, the Stewart also warns that mulch producers company produced 50,000 cubic yards of mulch the business needs to be should dry their mulch thoroughly before per year. Now that figure tops 120,000 cubic yards. Of that total, 70 percent is colorized aware of the costs to buy, colorizing, because wet substrates will not take dye properly. Adding, that the optimum light and dark brown, black, red or cedar tone.

Of that, 80 percent of the colorized product is operate and maintain the formulation of colors and resin, along with a uniform mixture, is necessary to make a high brown tone. quality colored mulch. He also adds, that for equipment. Equipment However, as a percentage of the mulch sales green waste, due to its inconsistent appearance volume, the colorized product, over the past costs can cripple you if as a substrate, the best color is brown. two years, has started to trend downwards; a Although Carolina Ground Covers, fact that Hogan attributes, in part, to the rising you aren’t cautious.”

Ehrhardt, South Carolina, has stiff competition retail price of colored mulch. for wood from two biomass energy plants, “Although we only sell wholesale to garden located within 50 miles of its operation, owner Richard Moore refrains centers, I know for a fact that the retail prices for colored mulch are higher from using green waste, due to a reliable source of wood from pine peelings, than natural mulch. Basically, up here (in Minnesota) natural mulch is 30 which are provided by local fence post mills. Even so, Moore has seen raw percent less expensive than colored mulch - $40 per cubic yard for dyed, material costs rise from $13 to $20 per ton since he’s been in business. versus mid $20 per cubic yard for natural,” Hogan cites.

Moore, who started with sod production in 2006, began making mulch “The colors will wash out of the mulch in a couple of years, so customers in May 2013. In his first full year in business, Moore says he produced who are more cost conscious may prefer natural mulch.” adds Hogan.

105,000 cubic yards of colored mulch in five colors, along with 12,000 cubic In the Rochester-Syracuse region of New York, a major mulch yards of natural mulch. And, he reports that sales for his first quarter are producer has seen a “leveling off ” in colored mulch sales, after a decade already half as much as he produced in his entire first year. of steady growth.

“Our business is increasing steadily. One reason is that we sell in bulk, Justin Sensenig, owner of Sensenigs Landscape Supply, Geneva, New as well as bags, and our larger competitors have moved away from bulk to York, started selling mulch in 1994 and began coloring it in 2005. Now sell to the big box stores. However, we do own a retail store in Lexington he sells about 200,000 cubic yards per year, half of which is colorized and (South Carolina) where we sell two cubic foot bags,” he explains. sold wholesale over a three-month period.

Moore and others in the business are generally confident about the Sensenig notes that because there has not been a high rate of growth future of colored mulch and the mulch business in general. All interviewed of new residential neighborhoods or growth in existing neighborhoods, were forging ahead with equipment updating and business expansion plans, mulch sales are not seeing growth. and forecast growth, albeit slow.

On the other hand, Sensenig has maintained its profitability, in part, However, they all caution newcomers to have a solid business plan, by controlling his costs. plenty of feedstock and a willing and ready market for their product.

“We have great supply of 100 percent virgin wood from sawmills up to They also warn of future fluctuation in the wood market due to biomass 100 miles away. This quality feedstock supply makes coloring easier and energy demands. the results more consistent. We find that good bark mulch is much better “Anybody getting into the business needs to be aware of the costs to for landscaping than recycled pallet wood,” Sensenig explains. buy, operate and maintain the equipment. Equipment costs can cripple But in some areas in the United States, particularly the Southeast, you if you aren’t cautious. The important thing is to produce a consistent, finding a steady, plentiful supply of clean hardwoods is becoming more high quality product and deliver it at a fair price. But remember, spreading difficult for the mulch producer. mulch in the U.S. is a rite of passage every spring. You will have plenty of According to Richard Stewart, Southeast Sales Representative and customers,” says Green Vision Material’s Gibney.

Consultant for CMC Mulch Colorants, Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, part of Cover photo courtesy of Rotochopper Inc. the hardwood supply problem is the growing competition for wood from 4

Soil & Mulch Producer News March / April 2015

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Maine Proposes Food Waste Recycling to Reach Recycling Goal

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ugusta, ME – Although the state of Maine failed to meet its 1989 goal of 50% recycling by 2014, Maine Public Broadcasting reports that a remedy is in the works.

A new bill introduced into state legislature, LD 659, calls for Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to develop a comprehensive plan for recycling organic waste, one of the largest remaining segments of the state’s waste stream.

The plan would focus on strategies for composting and energy recovery from food waste and other organic material. The proposed bill bans yard waste and leaves from landfills, and mandates expanded municipal composting and recycling by “large generators” of food waste. Authors of the bill say this would accelerate the current recycling rates, helping to meet - or even exceed – the state’s recycling goals.

The bill defines large generators of food waste as “entities that generate more than one ton of food waste per week.” This includes hospitals, colleges and universities, large secondary schools, restaurants, nursing homes, retail food stores and resort facilities.

Food products that are at or beyond their manufacturer’s expiration dates would be donated to hunger relief programs or delivered to farms for animal consumption. Then, as another way of diverting food scraps and other organic waste from landfills, DEP would evaluate anaerobic digesters to make biofuel.

The bill provides for a public hearing process to gain input from waste management facility operators, large institutions, experts in the composting of organic materials, agricultural representatives, environmental organizations, municipalities and operators of anaerobic digestion facilities.

If the bill passes, January 15, 2016 is the deadline for DEP to submit its recommendations to the State’s Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.

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Soil & Mulch Producer News March / April 2015

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March / April 2015 Soil & Mulch Producer News

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Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association Releases Industry Social Responsibility Report

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accepted the CSPMA’s reporting project as one of 23 global pilot initiatives participating to advance the SAFA Guidelines.

Since the late 1980s, the Canadian peat moss industry has placed environmental stewardship in the forefront of its strategic planning, research and activities. Protecting ecosystems and restoration of peat bogs are considered essential to sustainable management and responsible development of the natural resource. The CSPMA has developed science-based policies to ensure appropriate S peat moss harvesting, peatlands e: C restoration actions by its members c r u So and the adoption of best environmental sustainability practices. After harvesting, the sites are restored by re-establishing the biodiversity, hydrology and greenhouse gas exchange functions of the peatland.

To read the CSPMA Industry Social Responsibility Report online, visit www.

PeatMoss.com and click on the Industry Social Responsibility Report link on the home page.

Also visit www.PeatMoss.com for additional information about Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss or the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association.

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The ISR assessment also includes a detailed description of peatlands management and restoration, the goals and objectives of the association’s ISR mandate and specific actions to be carried out in order to improve the degree of social responsibility of the association and the peat moss industry as a whole.

“The Canadian peat moss industry is already recognized as an international leader in sustainable practices,” said Paul Short, President of the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association.

“The CSPMA Industry Social Responsibility Report is further evidence that we are continuing a leadership position in all facets of our industry, and we are accepting a role as a global leader in responsible peatland management and peat production.”

According to the CSPMA, the ISR Report is the result of several years of research and reporting. In 2012, the CSPMA used the Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA) guidelines as a foundation for developing the association’s first-ever ISR Report. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

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he Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association (CSPMA), a trade association of peat moss producers that accounts for 95% of Canada’s total peat moss harvesting and production, has issued its first Industry Social Responsibility Report. The CSPMA’s Industry Social Responsibility Report (ISR Report) is designed to demonstrate the association’s commitment to sustainable practices, responsible peat harvesting and the restoration of Canada’s vast resource of peatlands.

Included in the CSPMA’s ISR Report is a review of the horticultural sphagnum peat moss life cycle analysis, which included all operations involved in the production, transformation and distribution stages of peat moss production.

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Soil & Mulch Producer News March / April 2015

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Serving America’s color needs for over 25 years, we combine a one-two punch of premium quality mulch colorants and value pricing. This combination typically allows our customers to increase their profitablility by providing vibrant and long lasting colored mulch at a reduced cost.

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Premier Tech Chronos Acquires Brazilian Based Company, Almeida Martins

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remier Tech recently announced the acquisition of Almeida Martins by its Industrial Equipment Group, Premier Tech Chronos. According to the company, this tenth acquisition will enable Premier Tech Chronos to expand its worldwide presence and reinforces its status as one of the leaders in the packaging equipment industry.

Almeida Martins is a Brazilian-based company, founded in 1993, dedicated to helping companies with material handling as well as robotic solutions for packaging and palletizing.

Almeida Martins’ advanced technologies and machine capabilities are now used by more than 800 companies in Brazil.

According to Premier Tech Chrono, this acquisition will considerably improve the company’s ability to better serve global accounts in Brazil and will reinforce brand recognition in this market.

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10 Soil & Mulch Producer News March / April 2015

Fresno Company Delivers Soil Amendments in Convenient “Pods”

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resno, CA – A longtime family hardware business here has come up with an idea that makes it easier for folks to obtain and use compost in their yards, according to Fresnobee.com.

The service, called, “My Garden Pod” will deliver about 1,200 pounds of topsoil, compost or mulch to homeowners in a giant recyclable bag with handles.

All homeowners have to do is mark the spot where they want the pod placed. The My Garden Pod website suggests marking the spot with an “x” using a couple of crossed sticks on the lawn, chalk on the driveway, a couple of brooms — whatever they want.

Convenience is the main selling point, says Larry LeMay, My Garden Pod’s vice president of operations, whose family also runs Mayson Ace Hardware in northwest Fresno.

The Garden Pod, which holds a cubic yard of material, is priced at $139 plus tax. The top has a pull string to open and close the bag for easy access and to protect the compost on windy or rainy days. Once the bag is emptied, customers can toss it in their residential recycle bin or return it to one of the company’s drop-off points for a $5 refund.

The company also offers wheelbarrows and shovels in suitable sizes, which can be ordered along with the compost Garden Pod. “We’re trying to fit that niche of, ‘I need 20 bags of soil and I don’t have a pickup (or) even if I have a pickup, I don’t want that mess in my truck,’ ” LeMay said.

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March / April 2015 Soil & Mulch Producer News 11

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Kauai Biomass Plant to Get Fuel from Fire-Damaged Forest

USDA Accepts BCAP Comments Until April 28

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okee, HI – A state forester, a biomass plant and electric utility have banded together to come up with a green solution for scorched timber, according to an Associated Press reported by WashingtonTimes.com.

In 2012 several wildfires burned about 4000 acres of a forest reserve on the island of Kauai, leaving some 300 acres of standing eucalyptus and pine trees damaged. The State Division of Forestry decided to take down the trees and sell the wood to Green Energy, a biomass-to-energy plant, which in turn will sell energy to the local utility and undertake a reforestation project.

The timber sale to the processing plant is expected to total $300,000 - $500,000, money the state intends to put toward purchasing native and non-invasive species to be planted in the reserve.

Meanwhile, the Green Energy biomass-to-energy facility is being connected to the island’s power plant, Kauai Island Utility Cooperative.

Power generated by biomass is expected to supply about 11 percent of the island’s energy needs, according to the Co-op’s website.

Green Energy says the local wood from Kokee represents about 17 percent of the fuel the plant will need in a year, adding that the company has enough fuel and clearing rights to supply the plant with feedstock for 20 years. According to Green Energy, a rotation crop of Albizias will be planted and fertilized with ash byproduct from the plant. Albizias are tall, fast-growing native trees that thrive in the island’s climate.

The solution works out from a conservation and fire prevention standpoint, also. State officials said the damaged trees in the Kokee forest would have remained a hazard. With nowhere to take the logs, the state’s forestry department would have been limited to thinning undergrowth to reduce fire fuel.

“We wouldn’t have tried to convert it back to native,” said Patrick Porter, Kauai forestry manager for the Division of Forestry and Wildlife.

“We would have just managed it as it was before.”

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hoenix, AZ – US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be making available up to $8.7 million in funding for bioenergy research and education efforts, reports a HoosierAgToday article.

The agency has published its final rule on the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) in the Federal Register and is accepting public comments until April 28, 2015. BCAP provides up to $25 million each year in financial assistance to owners and operators of agricultural and non-industrial private forest land who wish to establish, produce, and deliver biomass feedstocks to a qualifying energy facility. The rule includes modifications to cost sharing, eligible types of biomass and other definitions. The full program rolls out on May 28, 2015.

USDA is also looking for applications for research and education grants through the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI), a joint program through NIFA and the U.S. Energy Department (DOE) to develop economically and environmentally sustainable sources of renewable biomass, increase the availability of renewable fuels and biobased products to help replace the need for gasoline and diesel in vehicles, and diversify our energy portfolio.

Applicants seeking BRDI funding must propose projects that integrate science and engineering research in the following three areas: feedstock development; biofuels and biobased products development; and biofuels development analysis. Past projects include a grant to the Quad County Corn Cooperative in Galva, Iowa that is retrofitting an existing corn starch ethanol plant to add value to its byproducts, which will be marketed to the feed markets and to the biodiesel industry. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. in Findlay, Ohio, is seeking to use remaining plant residue from the guayule shrub, which is used for rubber production, for use in biopower and for conversion to jet fuel precursors. The University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, is developing closed-loop energy systems using dairy manure as source of fiber and fertilizer.

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March / April 2015 Soil & Mulch Producer News 13

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Mulch Producer NEWS

Ohio Foresters Ponder USDA Hardwood Checkoff Proposal

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14 Soil & Mulch Producer News March / April 2015

anesville, OH – FarmandDairy.com reports that the Ohio Forestry Association (OFA) is still considering its position on a proposed industry-funded marketing and research program, which would be conducted by the USDA. Known as a “checkoff ” order, the USDA’s proposed Marketing Hardwood Lumber and Hardwood Plywood Promotion, Research and Information Order has been in the works for some time. The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, which administers and oversees checkoff orders, solicited industry comments, but has yet to make a final decision.

The federal agency rolls out such programs to increase domestic and international demand for an agricultural commodity. In the case of timber, the funding for such a study would come from fees based on sales revenue. Some forestry groups have opposed checkoffs because of the fee structure. Fees are charged to some types manufacturers, while others are exempt.

For instance, green sawmill producers and kiln operating facilities (including kiln drying yards) with annual sales of more than $2 million would pay into the checkoff at a rate of $1 per $1,000 of sales. Hardwood plywood mills with over $10 million in annual sales would pay $3 per $1,000 of revenue.

One point of contention is that companies with vertically integrated operations are charged once, and not for the revenue generated for each production phase, such as with integrated mill operators who buy green lumber, kiln dry it themselves and sell kilndried lumber products.

Sales of value-added products, such as unfinished strip flooring and hardwood plywood panels, plus lumber sold by the sawmill producer or by concentration yard, would be subject to the checkoff fee. Finished products, including pallets, furniture or cabinetry would not be directly covered by the checkoff.

If the proposal moves forward, members of a Hardwood Checkoff Committee are selected through an industry-wide nomination process, and then approved by the USDA. The committee is unpaid and made up of representatives from 15 lumber and forest product companies.

John Dorka, Ohio Forestry Association executive director says that as the board thinks about its decision, some Ohio members are questioning the need for a hardwood checkoff at all.

“Lumber is not often a product bought by consumers; it is bought by other producers who turn it into other products,” he said.

Hardwood goes through a number of processes before it becomes a marketable consumer product, he added.

In February, the Virginia Forest Products Association followed theMissouri Forest Products Association in officially opposing efforts to create a national hardwood checkoff.

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March / April 2015 Soil & Mulch Producer News 15

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Eucalyptus Chips Idea Slashed by Conservation Group

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akland, CA – Conservationists here are fighting a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) proposal to down some 50,000 eucalyptus trees and spread a thick blanket of chips in the East Bay Hills above University of California Berkeley, according to BeyondChron.com and EastBayExpress.com reports.

In early March, FEMA approved roughly $5.6 million in grants to fund tree thinning in the area, including the thinning of eucalyptus groves.

FEMA’s fiscal decision comes ten years after UC, the City of Oakland, and the East Bay Regional Park District submitted grant applications for fire hazard reduction programs.

Since the 1991 Oakland hills firestorm, which killed 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes, methods of managing fire hazards in the area have been hotly debated. Originally, clear cutting had been proposed by the University of California and some neighborhood groups because the eucalyptus species in non-native to the state. Replacing the trees with native species would help reduce the fire fuel load, proponents say.

Shortly after the grant funds were approved by FEMA, lawyers for The Hills Conservation Network entered a suit in Federal Court against FEMA, the regents of the University of California, the City of Oakland, the East Bay Regional Park District and the director of the California Office of Emergency Services.

The conservationists say FEMA’s plan would make matters worse. “(C) lear-cutting and chipping of eucalyptus will not achieve the most effective reduction of fire risks in the project areas and instead increases fire risks by disposing of wood chips in layers up to two-feet deep over extensive areas of the project sites,” The Hills Conservation Network complaint states, adding that oily eucalyptus wood dries quickly and can ignite and burn explosively.

The net effect of FEMA’s solution is to trade one fire hazard for another, the Conservation Network says. Further, the group’s law suit

www.ecoverse.net

16 Soil & Mulch Producer News March / April 2015

alleges that the FEMA plan violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, and urges the court to vacate FEMA’s environmental impact statement and record of decision, and to block the agency from disbursing any funds for the project.

In addition to removing the trees, FEMA proposes to remove brush, trim tree limbs and apply herbicide, according to the conservationists’ legal filing. The plan covers 2,059 acres, from the city of Richmond to the area around Lake Chabot, but the Conservation Network objects particularly to the plan for the University Hills area.

If the eucalyptus trees are removed, highly flammable hemlock, along with a number of invasive species, will take root, requiring vigilant herbicide control. The conservationists say the existing eucalyptus trees serve to protect against forest fires by breaking up strong winds and reducing hazard from flying embers.

Following the release of FEMA’s environmental impact statement (EIS), a public comment period which ended on June 17, 2013, yielded more than 13,000 individual comments from members of the public regarding the proposed projects.

According to FEMA, “The comments were organized and responded to under the following general topic areas: biological resources; fire and fuels; geology, seismicity and erosion; water resources and water quality; air quality, climate and microclimate; historic properties; aesthetics and visual quality; socioeconomics; human health and safety; public services, utilities, and recreation; land use and planning; transportation; noise issues; cumulative impacts; project alternatives; public involvement; federal funding; and grants management.”

Based on the comments, FEMA modified its draft EIS to request all sub-grantees to adopt a “unified methodology,” modeled on the East Bay Regional Park District’s proposed “thinning” approach.

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March / April 2015 Soil & Mulch Producer News 17

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EPA Pursues Controversial WOTUS Rulemaking

By Bonner R. Cohen

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hroughout 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made significant moves to expand its jurisdiction over previously unregulated bodies of water across the United States.

As a justification for its controversial initiative, EPA released on January 15 its scientific analysis of its regulatory plan to include isolated and intermittent bodies of water under EPA’s authority. The muchanticipated 408-page report is expected to pave the way for EPA to issue a final rule later in 2015, a move almost guaranteed to set up a confrontation between Congress and President Barack Obama.

Working in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, EPA now proposes to regulate all “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, extending federal regulatory authority beyond “‘navigable’ waters of the United States,” as laid out in the Clean Water Act (CWA).

Expanding Land Control: If the expected rule survives legislative and legal challenges, EPA will become a significant player in land-use decisions on millions of acres of private property throughout the rural United States, affecting farms, ranches, and orchards as well as the mining and timber industries.

EPA says its report draws on 1,200 peer-reviewed scientific studies examining the connections between streams and wetlands and larger downstream bodies of water. According to the EPA report, “The scientific literature clearly shows that wetlands and open waters in riparian areas in floodplains are physically, chemically, and biologically integrated with rivers via functions that improve downstream water quality.”

EPA contends its proposed WOTUS regulation is necessary to clarify uncertainties arising from two Supreme Court decisions: SWANCC v.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2001) and Rapanos v. United States (2006).

Those decisions restricted the regulatory authority of EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers over wetlands under CWA, but it did so in ambiguous language that left many questions unanswered.

All-Inclusive Definition: By attempting to extend federal jurisdiction from “navigable” waters of the United States, such as rivers, bays, and

shipping channels, to all the nation’s “waters,” EPA has given rise to fears it will regulate ditches, stock ponds, prairie potholes, and other depressions that are only intermittently wet as a result of rainfall or snowmelt.

Environmental groups have supported EPA’s initiative and welcomed the latest report. “Today’s release of the final report on the chemical, physical and biological connections between water bodies is an important step in the nearly 15-year-long effort to resolve the confusion over which waters are—and are not—covered in the Clean Water Act,” Jimmy Hague, director of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s Center for Water Resources, said in a statement. The plan has drawn the ire of the American Farm Bureau, National Home Builders Association, National Mining Association, and other groups.

‘Federal Zoning’: Craig Rucker, executive director of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, calls EPA’s move a huge power grab. “Under the pretext of ‘protecting’ bodies of water, EPA is transforming itself into a national land-use agency,” Rucker said. “EPA is establishing a system of federal zoning, under which rural landowners and businesses will have to get permits from EPA if they want to carry out what are now routine operations on their property. It is an unprecedented power grab.”

EPA’s attempt to expand its authority over U.S. waters already faces hurdles in Congress. In 2014, the House of Representatives passed the Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2014, aimed at preventing EPA’s reinterpretation of its authority over waters; the bill was not passed by the Senate.

The bill’s sponsors promise to bring it up again in 2015, with an up-or-down vote likely in the new Republican-controlled Senate. There have also been off-the-record hints the new Congress could try to prevent EPA’s expanded authority over U.S. waters by attaching a rider to mustpass spending bills that would withhold funding for the implementation of EPA’s rule.

Bonner R. Cohen, Ph.D. (bcohen@ nationalcenter.org) is a senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research in Washington, DC. This article is reprinted with permission from the March 2015 issue of Environment & Climate News, a publication of The Heartland Institute.

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March / April 2015 Soil & Mulch Producer News 19

Product/Equipment Profiles

Amerimulch® Introduces the MobileTrom™

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merimulch®, a member of the ChromaScape® family of brands, recently introduced its new MobileTrom™ coloring system. This is a unique and innovative piece of equipment based on its mobility, inclusive power unit and production capacity.

The simplicity of the ColorTrom® is now available in a self-contained, portable unit. If you are looking to enter the color-enriched mulch industry, or simply expand your current operation, and if 100 yards per hour hits your production target, the MobileTrom is the equipment for you! It is an attractive option to handle the challenges of multiple sites with the versatility to meet all of your manufacturing needs – Coloring Simplicity from Amerimulch. That includes our commitment of customer satisfaction and Real Tangible Value©.

Amerimulch® provides landscape coatings and equipment for the production of profitable, in-demand color-enriched mulches. Our colorants are formulated for superior bonding, coating and coverage and our equipment is designed for producers who want simple, effective, high-volume production.

Take the next step in landscape coatings and technology with Amerimulch.

For more information, please visit www.amerimulch.com or speak with your regional sales manager at 888-556-3304.

Buffalo Turbine Introduces Monsoon Gasoline Complete (MGC2) Dust & Odor Control System

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he start of 2015 marks Buffalo Turbine’s 70 year anniversar y.

Throughout their storied histor y Buffalo Turbine has created and implemented new progressive technologies into all of their products.

The Monsoon Gasoline Complete (MGC2) is the latest example of this progressive mentality. In 2014 Buffalo Turbine released their Diesel Monsoon Dust & Odor control model (BTD1003M). The new Diesel Monsoon unveiled Buffalo Turbine’s innovative 270 degree oscillation ring which reduced weight, increased range, oscillation speed, and maneuverability.

Previous to its release Buffalo Turbine offered optional oscillation through the use of a three wheeled oscillation base that ranged from 30 to 80 degrees of oscillation. Since the release of the diesel monsoon’s oscillation ring, Buffalo Turbine has been overwhelmed with customer requests for the same system to be fitted on their gasoline model (BT-MGC). Buffalo Turbine has responded to the requests with their new BT-MGC2.

To learn more contact Buffalo Turbine at 716-592-2700 or visit www.buffaloturbine.com .

Komptech Hurrifex: New Stone and Light Material Separator

Boxer® Introduces 900HD Compact Utility Loader

he new Komptech Hurrifex puts a stone separator and wind sifter into a single machine.

Material such as stones, inert and light items can now be removed from a wide variety of material streams in a single work step, with a high degree of separation and very economically.

Turning waste into recyclables - that’s the credo of the waste business. But sometimes it’s easier said than done. Effectiveness is often limited by inadequate technology and high costs, making the whole process uneconomical. For years, Komptech’s research focus has been on the development of work-ready machines that deploy many different separation methods.

For our customers who have to remove light contraries and stones from their material streams, we developed a machine that combines the functions of both the Stonefex and the HurrikanS wind sifter. Called the Hurrifex, it removes stones and light items from material streams with a separation rate of up to 95 percent. Separation requires just one process on one machine; saving space, material handling effort, energy costs and transportation costs.

orbark, Inc., the manufacturer of the Boxer line of compact utility loaders, has introduced the all-new Boxer 900HD. The 900HD includes a 48-HP Tier 4 Final diesel engine with Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC) that does not require after treatment, dual pattern operator controls and a 94-inch hinge pin height that will allow users to easily dump material over the side of a 6-foot truck bed.

The 900HD also features a 35% SAE (calculated) rated operating capacity of 939 lb. (425 kg). With an advanced torsional track suspension for a smooth ride and the ergonomic cockpit design, the Boxer 900HD provides enhanced operator comfort and utility.

The track tensioning system applies even track tension with simple adjustment to promote longer service life. The hydraulics package features a hydrostatic drive with 15-GPM (57 L/min) flow and dual auxiliary remotes with machine pressure relief block on the high-flow remotes. Like other Boxer compact utility loaders, the 900HD has a universal attachment plate to handle more than 50 attachments suited to any job.

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For more information, contact Komptech Americas, LLC at 720-890-9090 or info@komptechamericas.com or visit www.komptechamericas.com.

20 Soil & Mulch Producer News March / April 2015

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For complete Boxer Equipment product information, go to www.boxerequipment.com.

Soil

Seattle Food Waste Law Takes Effect

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eattle, WA – The nation’s first municipal food waste ban that took effect here in January is already showing promising results, reports a BizJournals.com article.

Skeptics wondered how residents and businesses would respond to the ordinance, but signups by new customers hit 30 percent in the first three months. And although the ordinance is new, food waste recycling here is not. It has been trucking along since 1988 through the efforts of volunteer “donors.” And Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) estimates that businesses and residents have kept nearly 400,000 tons of food out of landfills since 2005, when the city began providing special bins for collecting food waste in certain districts. Four years later, Seattle required all residential properties to have food and yard waste collection bins. Businesses with dining areas are already required to have disposal stations for compostable packaging.

Still, a ban that carries penalties for violations is a different animal.

“When we heard about the ban, it was definitely a concern,” said Cedar Grove Vice President Stephan Banchero.”If people are forced to do this, what are they actually putting in those containers? It defeats the purpose if it’s not the right material.”

As composting bins continue to be distributed throughout the area, the amount of material that gets collected will multiply quickly, and it will have to be sorted for plastics and other inorganic materials. Cedar Grove and other companies, such as Recology, that pick up the waste hope this doesn’t turn into a big deal.

The trash collectors have received training and each truck is supplied with tags to attach to trouble containers. If contaminates reach Cedar Grove’s facility, a sorting machine uses puffs of air pull out certain materials. In addition, an ongoing public education program makes people aware of what’s allowed in their food waste bins.

The program is estimated to prevent as much as 38,000 more tons of food scraps from going to an Eastern Oregon landfill each year, according to SPU. Seattle has set a goal of recycling or composting 60 percent of its waste in 2015.

In 2013, Seattle’s diverted 56 percent of compostables and recyclables from the landfill.

Yet compostables like food, napkins, pizza boxes and yard waste still make up the largest component of the city’s waste, with 30 percent of the Seattle’s 317.3 tons of trash going to the landfill in 2013.

Unless they do their own composting, commercial, single-family and multi-family properties’ whose garbage containers more than 10 percent recyclables or food waste by volume will face penalties. Multi-family and commercial properties initially will receive warnings. After the third infraction, they’ll be fined a maximum of $50 a week, Stav said.

Single-family properties will pay a $1 a week fine, or $4 a month maximum.

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Mulch Producer NEWS

Berks County, PA Resident Authors Book on Blue Marsh Region Prior to Dam Construction

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l i f e l o n g resident of Berks County, Pennsylvania has p u bl i s h e d a b o o k chronicling life on his family’s farm prior to it being seized by the U.S. Army Corps o f E n g i n e e r s fo r construction of the Blue Marsh Dam. Pleasant Valley Lost, written by Joseph J. Swope, begins in 1968 and focuses on the years in the Blue Marsh region before and during the acquisition and condemnation activities of the Corps of Engineers. Swope’s family owned and operated a premier dairy farm of almost 200 acres that was originally part of the estate of Joseph Hiester, the fifth governor of Pennsylvania.

The book is published by Black Rose Writing, an independent book publisher located in Texas. Pleasant Valley Lost, released in January 2015, has been in the Top 100 book sales on Amazaon.com on the topic of Environmental Policy.

Swope credits Marilyn Fox and Steve Potteiger, organizers of the Blue Marsh: Landscape Lost exhibit at Penn State-Berks Campus in the fall of 2013 as re-igniting interest in a community that thrived for more than two centuries before construction of the dam.

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March / April 2015 Soil & Mulch Producer News 21

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Know What EPA Has in Store for You Each monthly issue of Environment & Climate News addresses issues that affect you every day: over-regulation by EPA; protection of our soil, water, and forest resources; and more.

You can read it online at news.heartland.org or have it delivered to your email inbox for free at www.heartland.org/subscribe heartland.org/subscribe.

If you prefer the smell of newsprint, subscribe to the print publication for $36 at store. www.heartland.org heartland.org.

The Heartland Institute is a 31-year-old national nonprofit organization based in Chicago. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more inwww.heartland.org formation, visit our Web site at heartland.org or call HEARTLAND.ORG 312/377-4000. www.heartland.org HEARTLAND.ORG

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Napa’s Curbside Composting Program Begins

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ity of Napa, CA – One of the nation’s first curbside food waste composting programs to accept meat and bones has just got underway this year in California, reports a Patch.com article.

Run by Napa Recycling & Waste Services, the food waste recycling program has been operating as a pilot in three neighborhoods, where the participation rate has been about 67 percent. After food waste collection began, trash volume in those neighborhoods went down about 24 percent.

The success paved the way for expanded citywide and a webpage that has helpful instructions and advice on how to compost. City of Napa officials say that their food waste program eventually could keep more than 8,000 tons of material out of the city’s landfill each year.

The City is providing brown carts for pick up and kitchen compost pails for holding the food scraps until trash day. Besides meat and bones, allowable food waste includes dairy, bread, fruits and vegetables, foodsoiled paper, paper towels and napkins, coffee grounds and paper cups.

The food waste is picked on the same day as regular trash and the material is delivered to the city’s recycling and composting facility where it’s turned into organic compost, which is then made available for purchase.

“This program is necessary for us to meet both local and state goals of recycling or composting at least 75 percent of discarded materials by 2020,” the Recycling & Waste Services manager said in a statement.

A survey conducted during the pilot program revealed the one number reason households said they were not recycling their food scraps: they washed the waste down the garbage disposal. According to the Recycling & Waste Services website, this puts extra stress on wastewater treatment plants and requires an estimated 900 gallons of water annually to wash food scraps down the garbage disposal. California’s drought conditions are another reason residents are being encouraged to switch to recycling.

www.rotochopper.com

March / April 2015 Soil & Mulch Producer News 23

www.SoilandMulchProducerNews.com

VOL. IX NO. 2

mar / apr 2015

Inside This Issue Colored Mulch Manufacturers Show Slow, Steady Growth in Wholesale Market PAGE 1

Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association Releases Industry Social Responsibility Report PAGE 8 Kauai Biomass Plant to Get Fuel from Fire-Damaged Forest PAGE 12 Eucalyptus Chips Idea Slashed by Conservation Group PAGE 16 EPA Pursues Controversial WOTUS Rulemaking PAGE 18 Napa’s Curbside Composting Program Begins PAGE 22

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