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.”
