Vermont Horses vs. Twisted Tomatoes: A Compost Case Study
ISSN 2158-9429
Volume 6, Issue 1 - June 2013
Editor: Bindu Poudel-Ward
Abstract
Herbicide residues were identified in compost from a commercial compost facility (CCF) in Chittenden County, Vermont in June, 2012 when clients utilizing compost on their home gardens experienced damaged vegetable crops. As general assumptions and accusations were aired on local news programs, public concern, a need to mitigate misinformation and to validate herbicide residue testing methods mounted. The Vermont Agency of Agriculture (VT-AG) worked on sorting through fact and assumptions, and University of Vermont Extension (UVM-EXT) made efforts to support affected gardeners, to train garden evaluators, to provide science-based information about herbicides and horses, as well as deflecting misdirected accusations against the Vermont horse industry for being the source of the tainted compost. Because a complex testing situation emerged based on abilities (or lack thereof) of local and national testing facilities to accurately and consistently identify herbicide presence in compost and raw products, VT-AG is now working with the American Association of Pesticide Officials and Dow AgroSciences to establish and validate testing techniques. The open communication and collaboration between VT-AG and UVM-EXT helped to mitigate a volatile situation and minimize negative impacts. Efforts to identify and address these issues with long term herbicide persistence and compost are being discussed and undertaken at a state and national level, especially as more municipalities develop compost streams in an effort to keep organic materials out of landfills.
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