by USDA Forest Service
(Text from images) Located in the southwestern Colorado community of Durango, Table to Farm Compost has established itself as a model for recycling organic waste from households, businesses, and land management organizations. The company has more than 800 local customers for their compost and artisanal soil, used in agricultural enterprises, greenhouses, and home gardens throughout the community.
Monique DiGiorgio, Table to Farm managing member, explains that composting reduces waste going to landfills, reduces methane emissions, and sequesters atmospheric carbon. Their operation is 1 of only 16 compositing facilities in Colorado permitted to accept 3 types of waste (vegetative waste, source- separated organics, and mixed solid waste). “Acquiring this designation was a key milestone toward building our production capacity,” she says.
ACCESSING WOODY BIOMASS
Although community partners, including Timber Age Systems and local landscapers, have provided Table to Farm with wood processing byproducts, scaling up operations requires greater access to carbon-rich materials—such as the hazardous fuels and vegetation from the region’s forests—that are intrinsic to its blended soil products. However, transporting this material is often cost prohibitive. Now, with funding provided in part by a $128,070 Wood Innovations grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service, the company is exploring the means to overcome this hurdle.
The grant enabled the company to purchase a chipper to process small-diameter woody waste and support personnel and labor costs for a hazardous fuels demonstration project. This included hiring a consultant to determine the technical and financial feasibility of removing, transporting, and using woody biomass from hazardous fuel mitigation projects. DiGiorgio says that the immediate focus is on access to this material on private property adjacent to public land.
ENGAGEMENT WITH LIKE-MINDED PARTNERS
In addition to the USDA Forest Service, the company has received support from the Colorado State Forest Service, USDA’s Fertilizer Production Expansion Program, Durango Fire Protection District, and 4 Rivers Resilient Forest Collaborative. The Wildfire Adapted Partnership has also worked with Table to Farm by connecting the company with wildfire mitigation projects through community ambassadors—including those in farming and ranching—on private lands in the Durango area.
Todd Gardiner, cooperative forestry program manager in the USDA Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Region, says, “In addition to the wood innovations funding, Table to Farm has been creative in accessing other grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the State of Colorado. They are making such a positive contribution at a local scale and can be a model to replicate in other places.”
Reducing wildfire risk and promoting end-market development of compost and artisanal soil promotes both the environmental and economic health of the area. “This project supports communities throughout the region, including those who have been historically underserved in terms of beneficial outcomes. Once we are able to start processing additional waste, we can grow our staff, add jobs at the right scale, and increase our marketing and outreach. In the end, transforming waste into living soil builds self-reliance, ultimately supporting people and our planet,” says DiGiorgio.