CEFS Research Associate Silvana Pietrosemoli shows off finished compost full of red wriggler worms.

CEFS Research Associate Silvana Pietrosemoli shows off finished compost full of red wriggler worms.

CEFS’ new Composting Unit is up and running! Since 2011, CEFS has been composting waste products from the swine hoop houses and spreading the resulting compost on various fields across the research farm. The work is done by NCDA&CS farm staff in cooperation with university researchers.

The goal of the Composting Unit is to demonstrate both large-scale and small-scale composting methods that are replicable in backyard gardens and commercial farming operations alike. As CEFS continues to move forward with integrated livestock and cropping systems, composting will be an important part of on-farm nutrient management.

Students also conduct vermicomposting and other small-scale demonstrations from time to time. Vermicomposting uses worms in a biological system to break down waste and produce high-quality, nutrient-rich compost. Careful management is essential for this process, which offers significant potential not only as a composting process but also as an income-generating enterprise for producers. For the past two years, this work has been supervised by CEFS Research Associate Silvana Pietrosemoli.

Dr. Yasmin Cardoza, a CEFS entomologist from NC State, and graduate student Amos Little have been researching the effects of vermicompost on insect plant resistance. They found that incorporating as little as 20 percent vermicompost in the soil can increase host plants’ resistance against caterpillar and aphid pests, although further research is needed to determine the exact factors responsible for these effects. Their work was recently highlighted on the Southern SARE website.

From the May 2012 E-Newsletter