Butte County Survey | Compost Marketing Plan

Marketing Research:

Identifying Competition: The primary competitors to bulk compost sales are chicken and turkey manure/litter at $42/ton spread on the field, this material is considered a "better" buy based on total N values for growers looking for organic fertilizers. Nutrient analysis of turkey manure ranged from 1.8 to 2.8 % nitrogen, of which 3,500 ppm is ammonium-N, an ionized form of nitrogen that is readily lost from the soil. A winter forage trial was recently conducted to assess forage productivity between compost and turkey manure (see research update section 4).

Bulk compost would cost $44/ton spread on the field ($30/T for material, $14/T hauling and spreading costs). Compost would run about $31.4/ pound of nitrogen as compared to $17.5/pound of nitrogen for Turkey manure. Compost is more expensive to use as a fertilizer, albeit a better product in terms of its quality as a soil enhancer. To be competitive with raw turkey manure, we will have to enhance the % N or decrease the cost/ton. Broken Box is currently looking at tomato waste as an additional source of nitrogen that may be used to enhance the level of organic nitrogen in the compost without increasing soluble salt concentration. See research update section 4.

Alternatively, end-users of compost could be educated as to the benefits of compost over raw manure products. Growers need to look beyond total N and look at the quality of N. Additional benefits include:

1. Compost is weed seed free (due to heating process)
2. Compost is pathogen free (due to heating process)
3. Compost contains predominately fixed nitrogen (nonleachable)
4. Compost contains both macro and micro nutrients
5. Compost contains beneficial micro-organisms that enhance soil fertility
6. Compost builds soil structure

Compost is weed-seed free and pathogen free, thus there is no concern with pathogen transfer to fruit or vegetable crops as may be possible with raw manure products like chicken or turkey manure. In fact, a recent report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada records indicates that the organic market has a significantly higher recall and warning rates than conventional foods due to potentially dangerous allergenic ingredients, bacterial contamination and other serious safety-related concerns, a portion of which may be related to the raw organic materials used to fertilize and grow organic crops.

Compost is also rich in organic matter and beneficial microorganisms that enhance soil fertility and suppress soil pathogens (see research update section 4). Several scientists have demonstrated the beneficial effects of manure-based composts as biocontrol for soil borne plant pathogens. For example, Hadar and Mandelbaum (1992) determined that media amended with manure based compost was suppressive to soil born pathogens such as Rhizocotonia solani and Pythium aphanidermatum. There are many others who have shown suppression of a full range of plant fungus, further justifying the use of composted organics as the intelligent alternative to raw manure products. [Back to Top]

Butte County Marketing Surveys:

The University recently conducted a mass mailing to California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) in the Butte County area to assess interest in a compost product that was competitively priced at $20/ton FOB. With over 80 mailings, 10 responses (12% response rate) were received and the sale of 50 tons was complete in 14 days.

We found that most growers needed trucking and spreading services.

Phone surveys were recently conducted to determine local compost needs and marketability to both Organic growers and Nursery/Landscape suppliers. The results are as follows: [Back to Top]

Compost Marketing Plan:

The survey data tells us that most organic growers are small and require hauling and spreading services. Nitrogen is the most important component within the material, this value, coupled with price and service will determine which product they will purchase.

The survey data also shows that the nursery market may be more suitable for this particular product than the CCOF market. The compost produced from rice straw is consistent, weed seed free and very high in organic matter. Our survey data is consistent with Compost Marketing and Labeling Project produced by Cornell Waste Management Institute, Woods End Research Lab, NYS Organic Recycling and Compost Council and the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority in 2001. In this report, CWMI indicated that biggest end-user of compost was Nursery/Greenhouse businesses, Vegetable/Fruit and Flower growers, Home Gardeners and Landscapers. For profit businesses tended to by it in bulk, where the home gardeners bought the compost by the bag, paying $2 - $4 / cubic foot. The predominant desirable characteristics sought in a compost product are consistency and a product free of chemical contaminants and weed seeds. Nitrogen is not even mentioned in the CWMI data.
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The following items have been completed to enhance the marketability of Broken Box Compost:
1. Market survey work and market priority identification
2. Active website up and running www.brokenboxranch.com
3. Brochure development and sample labeling (see label below)
4. OMRI certification
5. Multiple research trials to determine quality, productivity and safety of the material.

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