Our Office
Holt 381
530-898-4335
Dr. Cynthia Daley, Founder, Director
cdaley@csuchico.edu
530-898-4335
Dr. Timothy LaSalle, Co-Founder
tim.lasalle@gmail.com
Priya Tuvell, Program Manager
pmtuvell@csuchico.edu
Email Us
regenerativeag@csuchico.edu
Current Participants in the Bioreactor Registry (F - M)
Find people participating in the research(opens in new window) and development of BEAM compost below. First page of the registry (A-M) is here.(opens in new window)
Farnico
Contact: Sergej Nicolaisen
Location: Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 10
Installation Date: In planning stage, intended by 2021
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: As instructed
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Awaiting results
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale?: Would like to buy.
Freeman Project
Contact: John and Roz Freeman
Location: San Luis Obispo, California, USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 1
Installation Date: March 17, 2021
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: 80% Dry Pecan leaves 15% Dry Oak leaves 5% Dry Sycamore leaves, caught rain water, 2 cups Johnson-Su bioreactor inoculant from a 12-month finished reactor at City Farm in San Luis Obispo, in the leaf bath containing some of our own cured compost, prior to loading it to the reactor. Additional information.(opens in new window)
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): not tested yet
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale?: Plan to use some for ourselves and give the rest away to others with instruction.
Frits Vandermerwe’s Farm
Contact: Frits Vandermerwe
Location: Mozambique
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 3
Installation Date: October 2018
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: 40% Old forest leaves, 40% old roofing grass, 20% cow dung
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): In progress
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? No
Froghaven
Contact: Adam Laurance
Location: Woodend, Victoria, Australia
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 8
Installation Date: 1/6/2020
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: Leaves 20%. grass 20%. poultry manure 10%, sawdust 15%, weeds 20%, wood chips 15%.
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Results not analyzed but compost to be tested in the field
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? No
Full Circle Veterinary Center
Contact: Natasha Lilly(opens in new window)
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 1
Installation Date: November 2019
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: Horse manure - 70%, bedding from laying hen boxes - 20%, plant material from garden - 10%
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Unknown
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? No. Using it for my own ranch and project with dogs.
Gaia University
Contact: Andrew Langford(opens in new window)
Location: Rumsey, CA, USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 3
Installation Date: May, 2017
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: Third cow manure, third fine local, ramial wood chip, third green grasses
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Observed sporulation of fungi, no bacteria count done
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? Maybe, not priced yet
Gino Margotto Marianelli’s Project
Contact: Gino Margotto Marianelli
Location: Linhares, ES, Brazil
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 3
Installation Date: December 2019 - January 2020
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: 1-60% Atlantic Forest litter / branches coffee/ cocoa shells (6:2:1) 30% Napier grass/ sugar cane / Gliricidia leaves and green branches/ Noni leaves (9:5:3:1) 10% cow manure biodynamics preparations
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Not yet . . .
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? No
Glen Greenock Farm
Contact: Ross Davey(opens in new window)
Location: Dunach, Victoria, Australia
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 2 using modified IBC as container
Installation Date: 2nd Sept 2018
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: Leaves 80% Compost (hay, horse manure, garden clippings) 10% Chicken shed sweepings 10%
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): In progress. As at 23 April 2019 about 50% breakdown.
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? No
Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative
Contact: Lukas Martinelli
Location: Santa Cruz, CA, USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 1
Installation Date: 3/2/19
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: 2/3 organic spent mushroom substrate from Far West Fungi, 1/3 well-aged yard waste compost produced onsite
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): TBD, we intend to perform a PLFA once we reach 9 months to a year in the bioreactor.
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? No
Glore Mill Centre for Sustainable Biodiversity, Energy, Living
Contact: Ray Cooper
Location: Kiltimagh, County Mayo, Ireland F12 PN 24
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 1
Installation Date: Week of April 22nd, 2019
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: 1/3 calf manure 1/3 mixture of stable straw/manure 1/3 dried grass
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): No results at this time other than being aerobic
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? No. Created for educational purpose
GSD Industries
Contact: Kelly Critz
Location: Longwood, FL
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 1
Installation Date: May 2020
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: 1/4 mushroom compost 3/4 shredded oak leaves
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Not finished yet
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? unknown
Henning’s Farm
Contact: Henning
Location: Berlin, Germany
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 1
Installation Date: In preparation
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: Woodchips Horse manure Coffee grounds Greens from vegetable and fruit deposals Fermented honey that i have No use for as the wax foundation was altered with substitutes .. As I am still collecting I would appreciate input Help recommendations regarding Ratio and If the honey is a good Material
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Coming later
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? No
Hexrivier Organic Lemons
Contact: Martli Slabber
Location: Republic of South Africa
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 7
Installation Date: November 2018 and ongoing
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: Woodchips 60%, green weeds 15%, food waste 20%, cow dung 5% -
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio):Here are photos from my 10-month old Biocomposter, taken by the superwomen at Nemlab, South Africa. We used it as a slurry to treat cover crop seeds in April-May 2020 (autumn planting – we are in Mediterranean climate, Southern Hemisphere). The roots of the germination cover crop is looking beautiful – soilclagged (for want of a better word), similar seedlings treated with vermicompost-leachate. We are also applying small amounts of JS compost directly under our trees, to help with inoculation of the soil. Lab Results. (PDF)
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? No - Will be using it to use in my own cover crops.
Home Organic Garden
Contact: Kevin O’Brien
Location: Paonia, Colorado, USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 1
Installation Date: November 2019
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: 100% leaves - mulched and washed. Occasional sprinklings of blood meal and alfalfa pellets were added when the bin was initially filled. I’m using a 4x4x4 wood frame bin on a pallet with 8 ventilation holes/shafts. This provides full coverage for the 12” maximum distance from an air source in my bin once the pipes are removed. 16 days in progress so far with temp remaining in thermophylic zone (140F--150F). Volume has decreased about 10%. Moisture level is steady—@ 70%.
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Reported 12/10/2020, using microBiometer testing kit: Fungal - 78%, Bacterialial - 22%, F:B ratio - 3.6:1, 1575 ug C/g
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? No.
Human Nature Projects
Contact: Ronald Kaboye
Location: Kampala, Central Region, Uganda
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 10
Installation Date: May 2020
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: We need to start
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): It's just in ideas, we need to learn
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? Not yet known
Indian Spring
Contact: Kim Graves / Masha Zager
Location: Catskill, NY
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 2
Installation Date: October 2018, November 2019
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: Rabbit manure and bedding; chicken manure and bedding; kitchen scraps; garden scraps; leaves
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Still looking for ways to measure
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale?: No, using it onsite
Inspiration Acres
Contact: Farmer Donna
Location: Green Bay, Wi, USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 4
Installation Date: 10/2020
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: 2 parts food waste 2 parts yard waste
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Unknown yet
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale?: no
Instituto de Agricultura Biológica
Contact: José Luiz M Garcia
Location: São Paulo, S.P., BRAZIL
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 12
Installation Date: Second semester of 2019
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: Dried leaves, Dried grass clippings, dried cattle manure, shredded eucaliptus bark.
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Not measured
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale?: No
Jatinder Saini’s Project
Contact: Jatinder Saini
Location: SBS Nagar, State of Punjab, India
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 2-4
Installation Date: Plan to install November 2020
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: I will inform you all later when the BEAMs are ready. I am also planning to scale up the design, both in shape and volume.
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): I will keep you all posted with the results...
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale?: No
JBarT Ranch
Contact: Trent
Location: Brady, Texas, USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 1
Installation Date: 8/15/2020 (Photo(opens in new window))
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: Oak Leaves, Oak Acorns, Oak Twigs, Pecan Leaves, Pecans, Pecan Twigs. 50/50 Oak/Pecan ratio Organic Gem Fish Hydrolysate in water , Molasses in water mixture for soaking process. Approximately 12 Oz total, 6 each. Removed tubes on 8/22/2020. Tubes were extremely hot to the touch 3-4” from surface throughout. Moisture levels are excellent 3-4” below the surface. Smell is of earthy fragrance and wonderful. No foul odor whatsoever. Will add worms on 9/6/2020.
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): N/A - Just created
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale?: No
Kleine Bosch
Contact: Piet Potgieter
Location: Wellington, Western Cape, South Africa
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 28
Installation Date: March 2019
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: Eucalyptus and black wattle (young growth) chipped as well as some olive branches
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Reading of 863 which the testing agency says is 11 times greater than you would expect in a soil with good soil health and represents the equivalent of 44.5 tons of microbiological biomass in the upper 20 cm of one hectare of land.
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale?: No
Komposztálom
Contact: Vitália Víg(opens in new window)
Location: Hungary
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 10 (as of March2021)
Installation Date: May 2020- March 2021
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: The reactors are filled with horse manure. Either 100 % manure or mixed with spent hay. We are working on coming up with ways to eliminate manure problems at small horse stables. At our demo site there are 3 horses currently, generating about 75 kg of manure daily. To handle this amount of manure we need to build about 2 reactors a month. At this point our process is extremely labor intensive, but the superiority of the finished product seems to justify the amount of work we need to put in. Would love to come up with ways to simplify the process while keeping the high quality of the finished material.
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): For the results of our first reactor, please see the microbial assessment report attached. The F:B ratio is getting close to 1, but the compost is not finished yet. As of now (March 2021) we are very satisfied with the results. We have the entire microscopic soil food web present in our compost. As time goes by, we expect the fungal biomass to go up and the organic plant materials completely break down. Test results at 9 months. (PDF)Photos and Microscopy(opens in new window).
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale?: Yes, we are planning on selling our product. In addition to selling the finished BEAM compost we are in the process of developing value added products that are based on this material. The price of the BEAM compost will be about 6 to 10 EUR per kg.
Landpath—Bayer Farms
Contact: Kim Anderson
Location: Santa Rosa, California USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 1
Installation Date: October 2019
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: Alfalfa hay, dry grass and weeds, kitchen scraps and worm casting for the wash
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Not yet.
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? No
LaSalle Farms
Contact: Tim LaSalle
Location: Atascadero, CA USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 2
Installation Date: 8/24/18 and 11/28/18
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: 1/3 wood chips,1/3 manure,1/3 leaf litter
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Not ready yet
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? Not yet.
Laura Francis Farm Consultants Ltd
Contact: Laura Francis
Location: United Kingdom
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: Unknown at present- setting up a new project in Exmoor National Park
Installation Date: TBC - this winter covid permitting
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: TBC
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): TBC
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? No
Lawton Farms, 1818713 ONTARIO INC.
Contact: Ken Lawton
Location: Kent Bridge, Ontario, Canada
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 3
Installation Date: July 2020
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: wood chips, cattle manure, hay, wood lot soil, field soil, small bit kelp extract
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): only 5 mo old, in heated room for winter
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? No
Leaf & Limb
Contact: Emmanuel Brown(opens in new window)
Location: Raleigh, NC, USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 1
Installation Date: 1 week ago (as of April 12, 2021)
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: shredded leaves
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): not finished
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? no
M&K Landscape
Contact: Ken
Location: Paso Robles, CA. USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 2
Installation Date: 10/04/2020
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: 5% Steer manure 5% Bermuda Grass 90% Oak & Pine chippings
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): None as of yet will see next year around this time.
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? No, personal use only.
Massa Organics
Contact: Greg Massa and Raquel Krach(opens in new window)
Location: Hamilton City, California, USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 5
Installation Date: February 2020
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: 2 of our bioreactors consisted of aged (1 year) rice straw. 3 of our bioreactors contain waste hay that had been eaten, trampled and bedded on by sheep. Contains lots of manure and urine.
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Unknown as of now. The rice straw reactors did not heat up past 90 degrees F. The hay/manure reactors stayed above 120 for several days.
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? no
Master Gardener
Contact: Gaye Torjusen
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 1
Installation Date: Nov 2, 2019
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: 20% green veggie garden cuttings 20% fruit tree prunings 25% wood chips 5% oak leaves 25% straw & goat bedding 5% horse manure
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): not finished yet
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? no
McConnell Foundation
Contact: Alex Carter
Location: Redding, CA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 2
Installation Date: January 2020
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: We modified the bioreactor design to accommodate more material: Bio-Reactor containment boxes are 8’long X 4’ wide X 5’ tall; 18 ea. 4.5” OD. X 60” air ventilation pipes installed. Wood chips/shaving (1.3 cuyd), steer manure (2.1 cuyd), shredded leaves (2.1 cuyd). Total material loaded into bioreactor = 5.5 cuyd
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Results received December 2020 Fungal:Bacterial Ratio = 1:5
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? no
Meanwood Valley Urban Farm
Contact: Luke(opens in new window)
Location: Leeds, UK
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 6
Installation Date: 2020
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: Straw/manure bedding 100% Grass/hay 100%
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Not complete
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? Maybe in the future as part of a soilbock mix
Mill Creek Capital
Contact: Bryan Huddleston
Location: Brentwood, Tennessee, USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 1
Installation Date: Sept. 2020
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: Not completed, but working on first one
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Not complete
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? unknown
MOBERG FAMILY FARM
Contact: Aaron Moberg
Location: Waco, Texas, USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 2
Installation Date: 12/03/2020 and 01/03/2021
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: 1st batch is 75% fine wood chips with the remainder being green garden plants and oak leaves. 2nd batch is 100% fine wood chips.
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): None yet
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? I would like to but we'll see how much I use.
Mosca-Hooper Conservation District
Contact: Patrick O'Neill(opens in new window)
Location: Alamosa, CO, USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 100
Installation Date: Oct 2018
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: Sheep Manure 8% Wood Chips 17% Grass Hay 50% Barley Straw 25%
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): 0.90 : 1.00 (note: test from soil foodweb analysis, taken at 5 months from time of pile formation). UPDATE as of 2/10/2020: The values for Total Fungal : Total Bacterial ratios from three locations within the pile tested out at 1.98 (top of pile), and 2.29 (middle pile), and 1.20 (bottom of pile).
MOSCA-HOOPER has a report on their use of Johnson-Su compost in the field(opens in new window).
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? Yes. 10 tons of finished compost are currently available. (June 9, 2020). Please contact Patrick O'Neill through their website (linked under "Contact" above) for pricing and shipping options.
Mother Nature Center
Contact: Ibrahim Loeks(opens in new window)
Location: Santa Fe, NM, USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 10
Installation Date: Spring 2020
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: 50% Wood Chips 30% Manure 15% Straw/Goat Poop 5% Green Material (composed of over 40 plant species)
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): Don't have this data yet
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? Not sure.
Mountain Run Permaculture, LLC
Contact: Mark Angelini
Location: Big Island, VA, USA
Number of Johnson-Su Bioreactors: 2
Installation Date: 2020
Materials used to make BEAM and in what ratio: 90% woodchips 10% garden waste
Results of finished BEAM (Fungal:Bacterial Ratio): awaiting results
Do you plan to offer your BEAM for sale? no
Want to join us? Register your BEAM Bioreactor project(opens in new window) and we'll add it to this page. Instructions for building your own bioreactor (JPG) are available in written and video form.
Bioreactor Registry: Page One(opens in new window) / Page Two / Page Three(opens in new window)