Eryka Reid

Dave Smith, who has worked with RMI since 2006, is the owner of Otter River Farm, LLC in Winchendon Massachusetts. Dave milks about 200 cows onsite to create his award-winning cheeses, but his farm footprint is very small. With no cropland, Dave composts all of his manure in two recently-constructed buildings spanning 30,000 square feet. “Using non-separated manure, it is essential to make sure no additional moisture is added, so we keep the entire operation undercover” Dave stated. Dave uses RMI products FiberDry and EcoBoost in his aerated static compost piles to aid in the composting process. “I use FiberDry for a dependable carbon source. The EcoBoost, helps me control odors and add some porosity” Dave explained. Dave retails his compost under the name Otter River Black Gold, which is available in retail bags and also in bulk at his farm stand.

RMI is pleased to be part of the recipe that has made Black Gold Compost a success story!

It was a wet spring this year in Morrisville, Vermont. Heavy rains left standing water in the fields into late May, and there was very little sun in June. When faced with a shortened growing season, soil health is paramount. Wood ash customer, Gary Greaves was able to grow a healthy stand of

corn. Gary’s 95 day-to-maturity corn stood over 6 feet tall at the end of this summer, while other stands in the area were extremely varied. Gary grows mainly corn silage on 92 acres. He averaged 18-20 tons per acre in a relatively poor growing season. This particular corn field was a former alfalfa field that had been amended with pH+Plus Green wood ash. “I was anticipating to have that kind of yield, but with the growing season we had, I wasn’t sure. The potash made the difference. On other fields, that didn’t get the ash, I had to add 30-0-20 in season to give it a boost. I am pleased with the result.”

 

RMI is the latest business to join the ranks of buildings around the region to use their south-facing roof to generate solar photovoltaic (pv) electricity. “Recycling is our line of work” said Shelagh Connelly, President of RMI. “This solar project feels like the ultimate example of re-using and recycling. The sun beats down on our roof most days, it makes good sense environmentally and economically to ‘re-use’ that solar power to produce all the electricity needed to run our main office, and then some!”

Ted Vansant of New England Commercial Solar Services of Holderness, NH compiled a local team to make the renewable energy installation happen. TG Design Carpentry & Solar of Holderness, along with Mauchly Electric of Plymouth designed and installed the 23.9kW solar array. According to the installation team, this solar array is the largest commercial solar installation in Holderness. It is comprised of (92) 260 watt solar modules made by USA manufacturer, Solar World, and will generate over 27,000 kWH of electricity annually. This solar electricity will back feed the electrical meter at RMI made possible by NH Electric Co-Op’s Net-Metering program.

“In addition to RMI receiving the monthly benefits of net-metering, this array will also generate at least 27 Renewable Energy Credits annually”, explained Sandra Jones from the Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative (PAREI), who supplied technical assistance and energy auditing services for the project. “NH Electric Co-Op (NHEC) must own a certain number of Renewable Energy Credits to meet NH’s Renewable Portfolio Standard and net-metered Co-Op members, like RMI, can help them meet their REC requirement by selling these credits to NHEC.”

The electricity produced by solar energy emits no pollution. According to the National Renewable Energy Lab, on average, every 1,000 kWH of electricity generated by solar power reduces emissions by nearly 8 pounds of sulfur dioxide, 5 pounds of nitrogen oxides, and more than 1,400 pounds of carbon dioxide. “RMI is proud to be part of this clean energy trend day in and day out” stated Charley Hanson. “Solar energy is a natural fit for our company because we are committed to improving the environment every day as we improve soils and crops with our organic products.”

	George Faran joined the RMI team in June as our Operations Assistant. In this role, George is responsible for the daily dispatch of the company’s truck fleet. This includes scheduling generator pickups and end user deliveries. Prior to joining RMI George worked for our next door neighbor MegaPrint as a production manager. George has extensive work experience in public safety including fire and police dispatch, and is a talented saxophonist playing in local community bands. If you go to a game at the Plymouth State University ice arena you will likely see George operating the Zamboni machine. George earned an Associate’s Degree in Fire Protection at NH Vocational-Technical College in Laconia and a BS Degree in Business Administration at Plymouth State University, New Hampshire.
	Maria Feraco is RMI’s new Full Charge Bookkeeper and Office Manager and the company’s newest employee having come on board in August. Prior to joining RMI, Maria worked at Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth as a Staff Accountant. Maria earned her degree in Science of Accounting at Mass Bay Community College. In her new job Maria is charged with a full scope of bookkeeping responsibilities, including processing billing, running employee payroll, and maintaining the various company accounts. Maria also works with the office staff who handle the myriad of administrative tasks necessary to keep the company going, ranging from handling mail, answering phones and keeping sales and delivery documents in order, to orchestrating today’s Annual Fall Harvest Pig Roast.
	Bill Wight joined our Delivery Team focused primarily on operating the company’s roll-off truck. Bill’s experience ranges from operating in the North Country timber business south all the way to Daytona, FL. In his non-work time you can find Bill enjoying everything NASCAR, especially the races at the track in Loudon, not too far from his home.
	Mike Paterson joined RMI at the end of June as our Over-the Road Driver. In this role, Mike serves a route ranging from eastern Massachusetts, north through NH and VT, and west into eastern NY State. Mike’s estimated 2.5 million miles of truck driving includes extensive experience hauling timber in and from the forests of Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire.

RMI has completed another organic matter build on fields at Five Point Farm using RMI’s FiberBuild, which consists of short paper fiber. These fields in Northfield, MA are owned by Fish and Game and are adjacent to the Connecticut River. The soils in the area are sandy and very low in organic matter. “You want to be between 6 to 8 on your OM scores” Chris Cooper, RMI’s Certified Crop Advisor explains. “These fields were scoring around 1.”

Organic matter in topsoil serves several important functions — it influences the release of nutrients over time, enhances the water-holding capacity of the topsoil and improves soil structure. As organic matter breaks down, it slowly makes nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus available to the crop. Increasing the water holding capacity of topsoil improves drought resistance and helps prevent the loss of nutrients through leaching. Erosion resistance is enhanced by the cellulose in FiberBuild, which assists with slope stabilization and minimizes run-off in storm events.

The land application of FiberBuild is accomplished with the use of conventional agricultural equipment.

May 14th was a perfect example of why you need to be tough to live in New England. It was 50 degrees outside and overcast with a crisp breeze that made it feel more like 40. New England farmers brave this weather, preparing for the growing season while there’s still snow on the mountaintops. So too native pollinators are diligently working despite New England’s challenging climate. You wouldn’t see honey bees, a Mediterranean species, pollinating in 50-degree weather. Nope, you need a pollinator made of tougher stuff, a pollinator like one of our native bumble bees. As I learned at the Managing Habitat for Pollinators on Farms workshop I attended that chilly day, native bees are perhaps our most important pollinators in cool northern climates. Because of their importance to the stability and sustainability of local farms, there is concern over the decline of native bees and attention being given to aiding in their recovery.

As Eric Mader of the Xerces Society explained, honey bee decline in the United States has received a great deal of press recently. Fewer flowered landscapes, insecticides, parasites, and an aging population of commercial bee keepers have all contributed to a 50% loss in the number of managed honey bee hives within the US since the 1950s. However, the honey bee species itself is not in significant peril. The honey bee is an imported species; although honey bee populations have declined dramatically in the US, it’s numbers are still fairly resilient within its native range. The same cannot be said of native pollinator populations.

There are roughly 50 native bumble bee species in North America well-known to researchers, including the dozen species that call New England home. A quarter of these North American bumble bees are undergoing population declines. In New Hampshire “one of our formerly most common species the rusty-patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis, is on the brink of extinction and very well could disapper from the world this year or next”, Mader warned. Adapted for the cold, wet weather of New England springs, native bumble bees are “disproportionately important as pollinators for crops”, Mader stated, “and to lose them from the landscape around us is an alarming issue.”

Considering the decline of other once-common pollinators, the decline of native pollinators comes as no surprise Mader elaborated. The number of monarch butterflies in North America has declined 90 percent in past 20 years. Similarly, a study by the London Zooligal Society found that, on average, the earth has lost 50% of its wildlife populations in the past 40 years.

Mader’s message, however, was one of hope and empowerment. “We can change the situation very easily” he said, “every single person can do something and make an immediate difference in their local landscape” to restore native pollinators.  To do so, organizations including the Xerces Society, New Hampshire NRCS and the NH Association of Conservation Districts are promoting three priorities for bee consevation:

1. Creating diverse pollen and nectar sources throughout the growing season – Bumble bees emerging from hibernation need large quantities of pollen and nectar from spring-clooming flowers. In mid-summer bumble bees are trying to produce new queens. Like bears, these new queen bumble bees hibernate over the winter and therefore need access to late-blooming flowers to build up their fat reserves.

2. Conserving bee nesting habitat – Though we may want to neaten our properties, Mader advocates letting “messy, unkempt” areas that can be found at the edge of farm properties remain. Large bumble bees often nest in abandoned rodent holes. Solitary ground nesters nest in sand and sandy loam and prefer heavy grass or thatched areas which reduced tillage helps maintain. Similarly wood-nesting bees use beetle bore holes in stumps/snags and pithy plants like blackberry canes to nest within.

3. Protection from insecticides – avoiding spraying a crop with a non-systemic insecticide when it’s in full bloom and in the morning-midday when bee activity is highest, for example, allows farmers to manage pests while reducing harm to wild bees Mader explained.

Interested in establishing foraging habitat for native pollinators on your property? Learn more about RMI’s Bee Project!

RMI has an Adams Pull Type Hydraulic Driven Litter Spreader for use by our customers within areas of Vermont and New York. The Adams spreader requires a 100 HP tractor and has a 10 ton capacity.

Additional spreader resources:

	Rockingham & Strafford County, NH Spreader: Stoltzfus Wet Lime Spreader Capacity: 4 tons Requirements: 45HP Tractor Towing: Tow Behind; pin required Rate: $30/day plus $3 per ton Minimum total charge of $50.Contact: UNH Cooperative Extension, Vicky Stafford, (603) 679-2790
	Cheshire County, NH Spreader: Stoltzfus BMS Wood Ash/Lime Spreader Capacity: 5 Tons Requirements: 65HP Tractor Towing: Straight drawbar pin Rate: $100/day plus $3 per ton spread not to exceed $200 a day.Contact: Cheshire County Conservation District, Amanda Littleton, (603) 756-2988

 

Orleans & Essex County, VT

Contract spreading; terms and pricing available upon request.

Contact: Daniel Riendeau, (802) 755-6340