Vol. XVI No. 3
May / June 2022
Serving Soil, Mulch, Compost & Wood Pellet Producers www.SoilandMulchProducerNews.com
NEWS
In-House ELDT Driver Training Solution Now Available
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o you want your children to grow up to be truck drivers?” That was the question posed by Philip Byrd, then president of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and Bulldog Trucking, when he spoke to members of the Mulch & Soil Council about the issue of a looming truck driver shortage. Not a single hand went up in response to his question. When that exchange took place in 2003, the estimated national truck driver shortage was around 20,000. By 2019, the pre-pandemic estimate for the national truck driver shortage had risen to 60,000 drivers, the ATA reported. “Nearly every good consumed in the U.S. is put on a truck at some point,” the ATA notes. “As a result, the trucking industry hauled 72.5 percent of all freight transported in the United States in 2019, equating to 11.84 billion tons.” The demand for drivers has continued to skyrocket. With e-commerce sales surging during the coronavirus pandemic — along with returns of approximately 38 to 40 percent of those total sales —even more pressure was put on the trucking industry to deliver in both directions, pushing the shortage of drivers to 80,000, according to the ATA. Futurist Nikolas Badminton predicts the need for drivers will explode to 162,000 by 2030, just eight years from now. Autonomous vehicle operations will fill some gaps in short-haul and regional trucking demand, but significant driver shortages will persist into the foreseeable future. Much of the driver shortage is blamed on poor pay, lack of benefits, difficult working conditions and the aging trucker population averaging over 56 years of age. The number of drivers employed in 2020 dropped to 3.36 million, nearly a 7 percent decline from the previous year. Despite the pressure that transportation issues have on current national supply chain problems, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on Feb. 7
By Robert L. LaGasse, Executive Director Mulch & Soil Council implemented a long delayed (since 2016) rule having significant impact on entry level driver training (ELDT). Among industries hard hit by the rule are mulch companies. Previously, anyone who wanted a commercial driver’s license only needed to apply and pass the knowledge and skills tests in the state where they live. How the applicant was trained was not an issue — only that they passed the tests. The new regulation requires applicants for a commercial driver’s license, including Class A and Class B and/or Hazardous Materials Endorsement, to first have a certificate from an approved driver training program before they can apply and take the knowledge and skills tests in any state. Some 24 percent of Mulch & Soil Council (MSC) members had in-house training programs. Those programs, unless previously approved, were instantly outlawed by the new regulation. The typical company in the MSC has 17 trucks, although not all of them require a commercial driver’s license. A shortage of drivers also plagues the industry, regardless of whether they contract out for shipping as most do or handle it in-house. FMCSA, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, has an online list of about 4,000 approved training programs nationwide which can, in some cases, present a geographic challenge for potential trainees. The training
school programs can cost from $2,000 to more than $10,000, with a national average estimated at approximately $6,500 to $7,500. The Mulch & Soil Council objected to the rule change but was told it had very few allies and the major trucking industry supported the rule change because they did not generally employ entry-level drivers. “With an increasing number of people applying for CDLs over the past year, there has never been a more important time to implement minimum uniform training standards that ensure new drivers have both the knowledge and skills to operate safely,” said Jack Van Steenburg, executive director and chief safety officer at FMCSA. “The ELDT regulations were developed with input from driver and training organizations, motor carriers, state licensing agencies, safety advocacy groups, and insurance companies.” The rule, however, virtually eliminated most existing in-house entry-level driver training programs for small businesses who depend on entry-level drivers, cannot afford to send employees to training schools due to costs or location, and cannot qualify as an approved driver training program under the new regulations. To address those concerns, the Mulch & Soil Council has come up with three options Continued on page 3
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In-House ELDT Driver Training Solution Now Available
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for the industry. The approaches are selfadministration, a hybrid administration or no administration. For the industry, the question comes down to how much do they want to get into licensing drivers. OPTION 1: Self-Administered In-House Training att Smith at Smith Creek in Borden, IN, chose to become an FMCSA-approved training facility. Wade Stevens, safety manager at Smith Creek, said he had to register with FMCSA and was approved as a training facility. “For the ELDT program, you have to kind of purchase a content program in order to be compliant,” he explains. “They throw a few options out there and we opted to use JJ Keller.” Stevens said Smith Creek paid $60 each for 20 students to access more than 40 hours of Keller ELDT online programs. Stevens conducts the training using the Keller resources and then records and tracks progress. Behind-the-wheel training is provided by a qualified commercial licensed driver at Smith Creek; Stevens records and tracks that progress until all training modules and requirements are completed. He then manually enters the data into the FMCSA online database. When everything is approved by the agency, a certificate is issued. Stevens then schedules the driver to take the knowledge and skills tests for a CDL. Stevens says the new process isn’t really difficult but is more cumbersome and more costly than previous training. “We only need to train one driver every few months, so the administration isn’t really a big problem,” he says. “But our driver ranks are getting older, and retirements are starting to have an impact. “If you have a higher turnover rate, selfadministering as a training provider could become more cumbersome and time consuming if you have to juggle a lot of guys in the program,” he adds. “For the level of turnover we have, I wanted to control the training process and our current program is working well for us.”
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OPTION 2: Hybrid Outside Administration With In-House Training or companies that don’t have the inhouse training resources to support the higher administration level required by the FMCSA rule change, the National Propane Gas Association offers a hybrid program for outside content and program administration and in-house training. “The ELDT mandate will make finding qualified drivers even harder,” the association notes.
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The National Propane Gas Association Administrative Compliance Expert (NPGA ACE) program is open to outside companies and provides ELDT training for Class A/B and HME commercial driver licenses. It is registered with FMSCA as a training provider. It offers two levels of services: — Basic Service. A self-administered program that provides ACE-generated checklists and 32 training modules of required theory instruction and behind-the-wheel instruction checklists, ACE-generated checklist of equipment requirements, ACE-generated completion forms and recordkeeping forms, and ACE staff access for Q&A. A company applying for basic service has to register as a training provider and track and submit all student training records and information to the FMCSA. Non-Member Cost: $275 — Deluxe Service. This provides everything in the basic plan plus access to ACEgenerated forms, checklists, ACE Services team review for accuracy and completion of all forms, checklists and completed information. There is also an assessment at the end of the course (80% passing score). ACE serves as the registered training provider and submits completion information to FMCSA and maintains driverapplicant records for ELDT compliance. NonMember Cost: $620. If you use NPGA ACE Services, you still use your own staff for behind-the-wheel instruction. Any individual on your staff who holds a CDL at or above that which they are instructing, for at least the last two years, and meets the commercial motor vehicles instructor requirements in your state, can serve as the behind-the-wheel instructor. ACE will have the instructor complete forms for ACE’s recordkeeping. ACE can also provide the requirements for the state where you are operating. For more information on the program and the costs for the packages offered, see the NPGA ACE website or email: eldt@npga.org. OPTION 3: In-House After CDL Training teve Liffers, co-president of Swanson Wood Products in Longview, WA, says he has had good success finding employees who want to be drivers. ‘They sign a contract, and we pay for them to get their CDL at a local FMCSAapproved driving school,” he explains. “When the employee gets their CDL, we start in-house training by putting them first in smaller trucks with an experienced driver. When the senior driver says they are ready to go on their own, Continued on page 4
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PUBLICATION STAFF Publisher / Editor Rick Downing Contributing Editors / Writers P. J. Heller • Robert L. LaGasse Sandy Woodthorpe Production & Layout Christine Mantush 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 Subscription information, call 440-257-6453. Soil & Mulch Producer News is published bimonthly by Downing & Associates. Reproductions or transmission in whole or in part, without written permission of the publisher, is prohibited. Annual subscription rate U.S. is $19.95. Outside of the U.S. add $10 ($29.95). Contact our main office, or mail-in the subscription form with payment. Copyright 2022 by Downing & Associates Printed on Post-Consumer Recycled Paper
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In-House ELDT Driver Training Solution Continued from page 3
we step them through a series of larger vehicles with experienced drivers until they are approved to drive on their own wherever we need them.” The student loan for driver training is about $5,000 and takes about two years to repay, at which time the driver gets a pay increase which is enhanced even more by the end of the payroll deduction for the loan. Regardless of which training option is chosen, it’s clear that the mulch and soil industry is in a battle with everyone else worldwide for over-the-road shipping. It will take years to determine what, if any, impact the change in entry-level driver training rules has on over-the-road safety. In spite of new government regulations and the tremendous shortage of drivers nationwide, mulch and soil companies are finding new ways to meet their needs in an increasingly difficult market. The Mulch & Soil Council began in 1972 and is the national association of producers of horticultural mulches, consumer potting soils and commercial growing media. Its mission is to define quality products and promote an open market and fair competition. To learn more about The Mulch & Soil Council, visit mulchandsoilcouncil.org or call 806-832-1810.
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Logging Companies Brace for Hardship
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s loggers blame the rise in gasoline prices for their business woes, they brace for another possible blow stemming from President Joe Biden’s Executive Order to protect old-growth forests, according to articles on USNews.com and Yahoo.com.
Transportation Costs Fuel Fears
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n March of 2021, per gallon gasoline prices in the United States were averaging $2.80. The US Energy Information Administration, which collects petroleum and fuels price data, shows an increase of nearly 50%. This summer, prices are hovering around $5.00 throughout much of the US, even creeping up toward $10 in some states. A North Carolina logger interviewed by AP said they are shutting down and selling off equipment, unable and unwilling to wait to continue their 37-year-old family business until economic conditions become more favorable. According to the Institute for Energy Research, gasoline prices are composed of four main components: 1.) supply and demand for oil in a global market, 2.) taxes levied by federal, state and local government, 3.) distribution and market costs, such as the costs incurred by local gas station owners, and 4.) the cost of refining crude oil to turn it into gasoline. With log trucks running 700 to 800 miles a day and burning a gallon fuel for every five miles, the costs add up fast. The Montana logger
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mentioned shortages of trucks and rising prices for nearly every piece of operating equipment he needs. Vehicle sticker prices rose 13.2% between April 2021 and April 2022, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, while prices for used vehicles climbed 22.7%.
Makes Sense on Paper
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n April 22 of this year, President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order on Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities, and Local Economies that is intended to help restore national forests devasted by fire, disease, and drought. Unlike an Act of Congress, Executive Orders do not carry the force of law. Biden’s Executive Order does not ban timber harvesting, and it does not identify logging as a threat to old and mature trees, explains a HealthyForests. org article. Rather, it identifies “climate impacts, catastrophic wildfires, insect infestation, and disease” as the primary threats to all forests, including older forests. It also takes aim at illegal logging and deforestation in other countries and seeks to limit the trade of illegally sourced wood products,” the article goes on to quote the Executive Order. The nonprofit Healthy Forests, Healthy Continued on page 6
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Logging Companies Brace for Hardship Continued from page 4
Communities is a grassroots coalition that supports sustainable forest management and advocates balanced policies that promote rural economic opportunity while maintaining recreation and diverse wildlife populations. Partners include local elected officials, business and labor groups, law enforcement, educators, tribes, sportsmen and outdoor groups, and more, according to the organization’s website. What the Executive Order does aim for is a “reasonable effort to protect forests at home and abroad from the impacts of climate change.” Specifically, the document directs the Forest Service and Department of the Interior to “define, identify, and complete an inventory of old-growth and mature forests on Federal lands, accounting for regional and ecological variations, as appropriate.” The inventory must be completed within one-year and be made available to the public. The end result would be to “institutionalize climatesmart management and conservation strategies that address threats to mature and old-growth forests on Federal lands.”
Fuzzy Definitions Don’t Prevent Forest Fires
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ill the Executive Order accomplish much? That’s up for debate. While there is broad consensus about the importance and significance of preserving the oldest and largest trees, such as Sequoias, there’s little clarity about what constitutes “old growth” and “mature” trees. A White House advisor defined old growth forests as those that are “generally as undisturbed stands with well-established canopies and individual trees usually over 150 years old and ‘mature’ forests as stands at least 80 years old. ” Meanwhile, an Arkansas Congressman quoted in the US News article contends that sequoia groves clearly qualify as mature. “Beyond that,” he observed, mature is a vague term that has no scientific meaning at all.”
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Logging Rules
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s White House Officials say they are developing a “workable definition” – apparently once that is at least tacitly acceptable to all parties, past protections for older trees have come indirectly, such as the “roadless rule.” That yardstick was adopted under former President Bill Clinton in 2001 and resulted in blocking logging on 58.5 million acres, or about one quarter of all federal forests. The “21-inch Rule,” which referred to the circumference of tree trunks, was used for almost two decades to preserve trees in federal forest deemed too “old” for logging. The restriction was dropped by the Forest Service last year after both logging companies and conservationists criticized it as too rigid. Logging projects on federal forests often include a mix of older and younger trees. Smaller, densely packed trees are worse for wildfires, because they can burn faster and hotter. But larger trees are worth more, which can be used as an incentive to bring in timber companies that thin forests to reduce wildfire risks. Environmentalists are pushing the administration to stop the federal logging projects and the timber industry says that would undermine efforts to protect communities against wildfires. A spokesperson for the American Forest Resource Council said any definitions crafted under Biden would be difficult to put into practice. Instead, the administration should be concentrating on another piece of its strategy to combat wildfires — thinning stands where decades of fire suppression allowed undergrowth to flourish, which can be a recipe for disaster when fires ignite, the spokesperson explained. Logging is a $300 billion industry in the US, one that has exercised its economic strength many times in the face of popular grassroots old-growth forest preservation movements. A spokesperson for the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity, expressed concern that the Forest Service “will slow walk this until the clock runs out,” referring to the protections outlined in the Executive Order. Although definitions of mature may vary among different tree species, but complexity was no excuse to avoid acting, she said.
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Ducks Unlimited Canada and the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association Announce Partnership on World Peatlands Day
Florida Dairy Farm Partners with People’s Gas to Build $8M Digester
ucks Unlimited Canada (DUC) and the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association (CSPMA)signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MOU), which will see the two organizations continue their work to develop innovative, sustainable, and ethical peatland and wetland management practices. Peatlands are geological areas with high amounts of partially decayed organic matter in wet conditions. In Canada they cover around 13 per cent of the country’s surface area, offering many environmental benefits from hosting high levels of biodiversity including many species of waterfowl, to filtering pollutants, and functioning as a natural carbon sink. Asha Hingorani, president of the CSPMA explains, “Ensuring the ecological restoration of peatlands that have been used for horticultural peat harvesting are a key value to the CSPMA and its members, specifically through our National Peatland Restoration Initiative. This renewed partnership with DUC provides cooperation and collaboration on research projects, knowledge mobilization and sharing. DUC is a trusted partner to help move our goals and objectives towards environmental stewardship forward.” The newly signed MOU addresses many goals, with DUC and the CSPMA working together primarily on conservation initiatives that will guide policy recommendations for government and industry on topics like management and restoration, mitigation, wildlife habitat planning, and sustainability. Knowledge sharing is another key focus of the MOU, with both organizations realizing the value of collaboration. “We are committed to our relationship with the CSPMA to support the continued understanding of Canada’s boreal wetland systems, promoting and supporting the use of strong science in sustainable development and wetland stewardship, and providing organizational science-based expertise,” says Kevin Smith, national manager of DUC’s National Boreal Program.
renton, FL – Despite numerous challenges with producing renewable energy since 2012, Alliance Dairies isn’t giving up yet, reports Farms.com. Last year, the Gainesville-area dairy partnered with TECO People’s Gas, the state’s largest gas distribution utility, to build a new anaerobic digester to convert manure from the farm’s 6,500 head of cattle into electricity. In 2011, the cost of building Alliance’s first digester was $8 million. A government grant covered 30% of that, but Alliance had to pay the rest of the expense upfront. Through its agreement with the utility, Alliance was to receive a discounted energy bill. But the system did not operate enough of the time to offset Alliance’s power costs. It was frequently offline due to various glitches, equipment breakdowns and repairs, which ate up a lot of that money, according to the farm’s owner. The new biogas conditioning facility will clean the methane and turn it into natural gas, which will then be pumped onto an interstate pipeline. This potentially puts Alliance in a much larger market where states like California offer carbon credits, which has proven to be a strong enticement to choose renewable energy. TECO Peoples Gas serves almost 425,000 customers in Florida.
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Nevada Turf Removal Law Sparks Incentive Programs
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olf course turf can stay, but nonfunctional streetscape, median, entrance, and other “decorative” grass must go before a Nevada law prohibiting use of Colorado River water for irrigation takes effect in 2027, reports Nevada Business.com.
Remove “non-recreational” turf by Dec. 31, 2026
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evada’s Assembly Bill 356 is not the first water restriction law of its kind in the state. Measures adopted in 2003 have reduced water consumption by 52% (as of 2019), despite population growth of 730,000 residents. The new law will require the replacement of 6 square miles of grass, or about 31% of turf in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. According to an ABC News article, the state legislature passed the ban with bipartisan support and backing from the Great Basin Water Network conservation group, as well as the Southern Nevada Homebuilders’ Association, which wants to free up water to allow for projected growth and future construction. When the law takes effect in 2027, it will apply only to Southern Nevada Water Authority jurisdiction, which encompasses Las Vegas and its surrounding areas and relies on the Colorado River for 90% of its water supply. Aimed at non-single-family properties, the ban is anticipated to save billions of gallons of Southern Nevada’s water supply by requiring the removal or replacement of nonrecreational grass at commercial properties, homeowners’ associations (HOAs) and multi-family developments. It does not affect single-family residences. Targeting non-single-family properties came about because, as explained by the Enterprise Conservation Manager at the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), those owners have taken out less than a third of their water-thirsty decorative grass. By contrast, homeowners have removed nearly 70 percent of their nonfunctional grass. The region will not receive 7 billion gallons of water this year due to
a federally declared shortage on the Colorado River. The areas targeted by the turf removal law are located at HOA entrances; apartments, condominium and commercial complexes; streetscapes and medians.
Soaking Up Sun, Not So Much Water
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ccording to SNWA, resorts consume about 4 percent of the Las Vegas community’s water supply—that is the water that is only used once and not recycled. In addition, new resorts are required to submit water efficiency plans to encourage efficient water management practices. Viewed from the state level, the resort sector uses less than onehalf of one percent of the Nevada’s water supply, while employing about 21 percent of the state’s workforce. A GreenLodgingNews.com article report that MGM Resorts International has converted over 200,000 square feet of real grass to artificial turf or desert-friendly landscape to help reduce its consumptive water use (water it does not send back to the source). As for the common misperception that golf courses (along with resorts) use large amounts of the community’s water, not so much. In reality, golf courses use about 6 percent of the area’s water, compared to the 60 percent used by residents, the Green Lodging News explains.
Incentives to Make a Switch
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he SNWA is working with Southern Nevada businesses to help them make the transition from water-thirsty grass to water-smart landscapes. The SNWA Water Smart Landscapes rebate offers a cash incentive of up to $3 a square foot of grass replaced with drip-irrigated trees and plants. (Some restrictions apply.) The agency is urging early applications for the popular program. Learn more about SNWA’s landscape rebate and other cash incentives by contacting one of SNWA’s business experts at 702-862-3740 or email cashincentives@snwa.com or visiting the website at snwa.com.
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NASA-Funded Study Breaks New Ground in Plant Research
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n the early days of the space age, the Apollo astronauts took part in a visionary plan: Bring samples of the lunar surface material, known as regolith, back to Earth where they could be studied with state-of-theart equipment and saved for future research not yet imagined. Fifty years later, at the dawn of the Artemis era and the next astronaut return to the Moon, three of those samples have been used to successfully grow plants. For the first time ever, researchers have grown the hardy and wellstudied Arabidopsis thaliana in the nutrient-poor lunar regolith. “This research is critical to NASA’s long-term human exploration goals as we’ll need to use resources found on the Moon and Mars to develop food sources for future astronauts living and operating in deep space,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “This fundamental plant growth research is also a key example of how NASA is working to unlock agricultural innovations that could help us understand how plants might overcome stressful conditions in food-scarce areas here on Earth.” Scientists at the University of Florida have made a breakthrough discovery — decades in the making — that could both enable space exploration and benefit humanity. “Here we are, 50 years later, completing experiments that were started back in the Apollo labs,” said Robert Ferl, a professor in the Horticultural Sciences department at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and a communicating author on a paper published on May 12, 2022, in Communications Biology. “We first asked the question of whether plants can grow in regolith. And second, how might that one day help humans have an extended stay on the Moon.” The answer to the first question is a resounding yes. Plants can grow in lunar regolith. They were not as robust as plants grown in Earth soil, or even as those in the control group grown in a lunar simulant made from volcanic ash, but they did indeed grow. And by studying how the plants responded in the lunar samples, the team hopes to go on to answer the second question as well, paving the way for future astronauts to someday grow more nutrient-rich plants on the Moon and thrive in deep space.
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o explore further and to learn about the solar system we live in, we need to take advantage of what’s on the Moon, so we don’t have to take all of it with us,” said Jacob Bleacher, the Chief Exploration Scientist supporting NASA’s Artemis program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Bleacher points out that this is also why NASA is sending robotic missions to the Moon’s South Pole where it’s believed there may be water that can be used by future astronauts. “What’s more, growing plants is the kind of thing we’ll study when we go. So, these studies on the ground lay the path to expand that research by the next humans on the Moon.” Arabidopsis thaliana, native to Eurasia and Africa, is a relative of mustard greens and other cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. It also plays a key role for scientists: due to its small size and ease of growth, it is one of the most studied plants in the world, used as a model organism for research into all areas of plant biology. As such, scientists already know what its genes look like, how it behaves in different circumstances, even how it grows in space.
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o grow the Arabidopsis, the team used samples collected on the Apollo 11, 12, and 17 missions, with only a gram of regolith allotted for each plant. The team added water and then seeds to the samples. They then put the trays into terrarium boxes in a clean room. A nutrient solution was added daily. “After two days, they started to sprout!” said Anna-Lisa Paul, who is also a professor in Horticultural Sciences at the University of Florida, and who is first author on the paper. “Everything sprouted. I can’t tell you how astonished we were! Every plant – whether in a lunar sample or in a Continued on page 14
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NASA-Funded Study Breaks New Ground in Plant Research Continued from page 12
control – looked the same up until about day six.” After day six, however, it was clear that the plants were not as robust as the control group plants growing in volcanic ash, and the plants were growing differently depending on which type of sample they were in. The plants grew more slowly and had stunted roots; additionally, some had stunted leaves and sported reddish pigmentation. After 20 days, just before the plants started to flower, the team harvested the plants, ground them up, and studied the RNA. In a biological system, genes are decoded in multiple steps. First, the genes, or DNA, are transcribed into RNA. Then the RNA is translated into a protein sequence. These proteins are responsible for carrying out many of the biological processes in a living organism. Sequencing the RNA revealed the patterns of genes that were expressed, which showed that the plants were indeed under stress and had reacted the way researchers have seen Arabidopsis respond to growth in other harsh environments, such as when soil has too much salt or heavy metals. Additionally, the plants reacted differently depending on which sample – each collected from different areas on the Moon – was used. Plants grown in the Apollo 11 samples were not as robust as the other two sets. Nonetheless, the plants did grow.
Sowing the Seeds for Future Research
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his research opens the door not only to someday growing plants in habitats on the Moon, but to a wide range of additional questions. Can understanding which genes plants need to adjust to growing in
regolith help us understand how to reduce the stressful nature of lunar soil? Are materials from different areas of the Moon more conducive to growing plants than others? Could studying lunar regolith help us understand more about the Mars regolith and potentially growing plants in that material as well? All of these are questions that the team hopes to study next, in support of the future astronauts traveling to the Moon. “Not only is it pleasing for us to have plants around us, especially as we venture to new destinations in space, but they could provide supplemental nutrition to our diets and enable future human exploration,” said Sharmila Bhattacharya, program scientist with NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences (BPS) Division. “Plants are what enable us to be explorers.” This research is part of the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program, or ANGSA, an effort to study the samples returned from the Apollo Program in advance of the upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon’s South Pole. BPS helped support this work, which also supports other fundamental plant research, including Veggie, PONDS, and Advanced Plant Habitat.
About BPS
NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division pioneers scientific discovery and enables exploration by using space environments to conduct investigations not possible on Earth. Studying biological and physical phenomenon under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth.
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14 Soil & Mulch Producer News May / June 2022
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Miracle-Gro Supports Cannabis Market as Picks ‘n’ Shovels Supplier – and Lobbyist
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subsidiary of the 154-year-old, Ohio-based Scotts Miracle-Gro is taking root in the burgeoning cannabis growing industry, reports WENY.com. Vancouver, WA – Hawthorne Gardening Company has been investing in hydroponics, lighting and other supplies used for growing cannabis for about seven years. Now the company is throwing its lobbying weight behind legalization efforts to support the consumer-facing brands that make and sell cannabis products. Marijuana’s federally illegal status as a Schedule I substance prevents companies on the
major stock exchanges from establishing “planttouching” operations, such as cannabis growers, manufacturers and retailers. Scotts started small with a $45-million investment in the indoor gardening products company AeroGrow. In 2014, Scotts formed Hawthorne, its hydroponics-focused subsidiary, after which it spent close to half a billion dollars scooping up hydroponics supply firm General Hydroponics, lighting company Gavita, and nutrients maker Botanicare. Both the cannabis and home improvement industries saw huge sales gains during the COVID-19 pandemic, as home-bound
consumers sought relaxation in cannabis products and gardening. In 2021, Hawthorne comprised nearly 30%, or $1.4 billion, of Scotts’ overall sales, up from 25% in 2020 and a 20% share in 2019, the company’s annual filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show. Hawthorne has locations throughout North America and in the Netherlands. Logistics, labor, and inflationary challenges have diminished the pandemic boom somewhat, but changes in state regulations throughout the Northeast are expected result in some of the largest cannabis markets in the nation. New Jersey and New York cannabis industries are expected to reach maturity in four or five years after sales begin. New Jersey has started selling adult-use cannabis and New York is expected to begin sales later this year. Scotts contributed $800,000 of the $1.3 billion raised by pro-legalization committees in New Jersey.
Recycling Process Yields Strong-as-Steel “Healed Wood”
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www.amadas.com 16 Soil & Mulch Producer News May / June 2022
ONDON - A material made from recycled wood is five times stronger than natural wood and can be made from any timber by-product, including shavings and sawdust, according to a study published in the journal, Nature Sustainability. A team of scientists at University of British Columbia, Canada have invented a recycling process that turns low-value wood into a light, yet exceptionally strong material ideal for structural applications. The process they used involves combining the solvent, dimethylacetamide, with lithium chloride, an alkali, to dissolve lignin. Lignin is the sticky component inside plant cell walls. This “delignification” exposes tiny cellulose fibers in the wood which then bind together. The resulting material is called “healed wood.” Delignification is not new. Variations of the process have been used widely in the pulp and paper industry and are known to improve mill energy efficiency. The British Columbia scientists say their process could be used to produce a material that is an alternative to steel and other metals, as well as laminated wood. They said that the environmental impact of large-scale production using the process is unknown.
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Herbicide Residues in Composted Manure Pose Risk to Crops
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INCOLN, NE — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a list of active ingredients that, if present in compost, may be dangerous to human health, reports MorningAgClips.com. The EPA has been studying the potential risks to food crops fertilized or grown in composted manure from grazing animals that consume forage sprayed with certain herbicides. Currently, the EPA is reviewing a group of Pyridines for their persistence in organic matter such as plants, parts of plants, and manure from livestock that have grazed treated plants.
Pyridine and Pyrimidine Herbicides
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he list of active ingredients being addressed by the EPA for residue concerns in manure and compost from herbicides are as follows: Clopyralid, Triclopyr, Fluroxypyr, Aminopyralid, Aminocyclopyrachlor (ACP), Dithiopyr and Picloram. Use of manure or compost that contains residues of those active ingredients could cause damage to plants, reduce productivity of plants, or cause plant death. Additionally, the residues may remain within the soil for an extended period of time if they are present within the manure. The EPA reviews all registered pesticides at least every 15 years to determine if the
chemical is still able to function as intended without negatively affecting human health or the environment. Any concerns with a product moving off target, not degrading, or causing harm to non-target organisms are often addressed during this review process.
Check Your Records
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or farmers, if livestock does not graze a treated field the following growing season, many of the concerns regarding pyridines will not apply. Be aware that older labels may not have grazing restrictions or have less stringent restrictions on them, however. It may be useful to check labels for the active ingredients listed above. Although some labels have the grazing restrictions on the first page, not all of them do. It’s important to look at the Restrictions section of the label and the Use Precautions section for more information. Home and community gardeners are urged to check any pesticide labels used within the last year on a food crop plot. If you purchase manure or compost from a nearby operation, it is important to ask questions about products that were used to ensure there were no restrictions on movement of the manure. If you have questions or concerns about herbicide residue, contact your local USDA county extension office. You can also go to the EPA Registration Review of Pyridine and Pyrimidine Herbicides web page.
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verett, WA — A Stanwood composter is appealing a dozen conditions – including one barring detectable odors – months after receiving state approval to double its composting operation, reports HeraldNet.com. In January, Puget Sound Clean Air Agency granted Lenz Enterprises’ request to expand its operations. Lenz, a family-owned business, which has been serving the Everett area composted material for gardening and landscaping products since 2008, had applied for the permit three years ago. The new permit allows Lenz to accept up to 150,000 tons per year of organic compostables like food waste, yard debris and animal manure — twice the volume allowed since 2014. The expansion includes additional staging areas, use of windrows, and installation of two new biofilters to capture emissions. Meanwhile, several Stanwood residents and Cedar Grove, a larger composting firm, filed a separate appeal aimed at blocking the expansion pending further analysis of its impact on the community. Residents contend the lack of good data on air emissions “could adversely affect their health, well-being, and enjoyment of their property.” Cedar Grove, which operates composting facilities in Everett and Maple Valley, alleges the agency is not requiring Lenz to abide by the same environmental standards as imposed on Cedar Grove. Under the new permit, Lenz must capture at least 98% of ammonia emissions from aerated piles, another condition the company is fighting. Lenz’ attorneys cite “unlawful” restrictions that could force the company to shutter the entire operation. They have filed an appeal and are seeking a stay of the enforcement. Residents and Cedar Grove also filed for a stay to “preserve the status quo” and prevent further work on the expansion until the appeals are resolved. A vast majority of the material Lenz uses to make compost comes from the city of Seattle. Additional sources are Snohomish County and other cities in King County.
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Inside This Issue In-House ELDT Driver Training Solution Now Available
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Logging Companies Brace for Hardship
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Florida Dairy Farm Partners with People’s Gas to Build $8M Digester
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Nevada Turf Removal Law Sparks Incentive Programs
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NASA-Funded Study Breaks New Ground in Plant Research
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Miracle-Gro Supports Cannabis Market as Picks ‘n’ Shovels Supplier – and Lobbyist
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Herbicide Residues in Composted Manure Pose Risk to Crops
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