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Home / Feature 2 / Meeting ‘The Beast’: Field Trip to Martin’s Farm Composting

Posted December 6, 2018 by Lucy Kahn

Meeting ‘The Beast’: Field Trip to Martin’s Farm Composting

Real Pickles staff field trip to Martin's Farm Composting

When we arrived at Martin’s Farm in Greenfield, MA on a Monday in mid-September, Adam Martin was in the driveway, repairing a yellow machine the size of a fire truck with “The Beast” written on its side. Adam welcomed us with a wide smile and grease-streaked cheeks. We had traveled up the road to Martin’s Farm for our annual staff field trip, an opportunity to meet our partners in building a strong regional food system. To begin our tour, Adam introduced us to The Beast, which can grind 1 ton of food scraps per minute. Adam, who studied diesel mechanics before he went to business school, wears many hats on this farm, from owner to tour guide to repairer of The Beast.

MaReal Pickles staff field trip to Martin's Farm Compostingrtin’s Farm is one of a handful of family-run compost farms in Massachusetts. Bob Martin, Adam’s Father, started the farm in 1981, and in 1987 he got one of the first state permits for on-farm composting. They now accept up to 22 tons of compostables per day and sell multiple blends of high quality compost. Real Pickles has been sending our vegetable waste to Martin’s farm for over a decade. In the early years, we brought our compostables to Martin’s in a pick-up truck. Now, we send Martin’s over 60,000 lbs of compostables each year – that’s 97% of our facility’s entire waste stream. By composting our scraps into soil nutrients that farmers can return to their fields, Martin’s Farm is one of the crucial links that closes the loop between farms, fermentation, and people’s forks.

We followed Adam out of the driveway, over the truck scale where loads of compostables are weighed, and down the road to the composting yard. The air smelled like fresh mulch – a rich, woody, slightly sharp scent. Here, amidst the windrows of compost from this summer, Adam walked us through the whole composting process. When food scraps arrive, staff sort through the load by hand to remove anything not compostable. The sorted loads are digested by The Beast, and then mixed in the right ratios of nitrogen materials (food scraps) to carbon materials (wood chips, leaves, etc.). This recipe of nitrogen and carbon is the key to composting: the microbes that break down the compostables need the right habitat to thrive. While the microbes get to work, Adam monitors temperature and moisture in the compost piles to keep them happy. In 3-4 months, the microbes have digested the food waste into rich organic matter and raw nutrients. Just like any other farmer, Adam’s composting season has been affected by all the rainy weather this summer; the extra moisture made the compost heavier, and backed up his schedule because he had to wait for the the sun to dry out the piles.

Real Pickles staff field trip to Martin's Farm CompostingBack in the driveway at the end of the tour, Adam is quick to point out that he couldn’t make a difference in the food system without the schools, businesses, and neighbors who send him food scraps. And together, there is more we can do to reduce food waste. According to the MA Food System Collaborative, in 2017, approximately 900,000 tons of food were thrown away in Massachusetts – that’s enough food waste to keep The Beast running for a year and 8 months, with no breaks! With municipal landfills at capacity, regulators have created incentives to compost food waste instead of trashing it. Massachusetts enacted a ban on commercial food waste in 2014, and the ban has increased the demand for compost collection and transportation. So far, two worker cooperative businesses have started up to meet this need: CERO Co-op based in Dorchester and serving Boston, and The Compost Cooperative based Greenfield and delivering to Martin’s Farm.

Adam sent us on our way with tractor air fresheners as souvenirs, and a fresh commitment to take stickers off our fruit peels when we compost them. We’re grateful to share a place in the food system with dedicated, food-humored people like Adam and the Martin’s Farm crew!

Real Pickles staff field trip to Martin's Farm Composting

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It is with great pleasure to introduce to you a Pi It is with great pleasure to introduce to you a Pickler you can’t help smiling around, meet Jess! Jess came to Real Pickles after years of doing seasonal work on vegetable farms and piecing together winter jobs. They loved the farm work but when they found Real Pickles 4 years ago they decided this was the place for them! 
Jess is a worker-owner with many important roles across each department at Real Pickles. In addition to being on our board of directors and working as a production assistant, they are also responsible for the seamless success of our shipping department, a job they make look effortless. On top of all that, Jess is also the assistant bookkeeper and a huge asset to the sales team!
If there is a birthday or an occasion to celebrate at Real Pickles, Jess makes sure to provide delicious treats that everyone can enjoy, no matter what their dietary needs are! When Jess is not at Real Pickles they are working hard at mastering the yoyo, learning to crochet small animals and collecting VHS tapes and other forms of obsolete media.
We love working with Jess and appreciate all that they bring to the Real Pickles family! 

#MeetThePicklers #RealPickles #PackedWithAMission #fermentedandraw #fermented #peekbehindthemask #organic #pickles #kraut #coop #workerowned #fermentation
YUM! 😋@wheelhouse.farm has paired our Organic G YUM! 😋@wheelhouse.farm has paired our Organic Garlic Kraut with some pork belly pastrami and rosemary on top of one of our favorite bakery's sourdough! 
Reposted from @cisa_localhero:
When #localrestaurants use hand-made ingredients from other #localfarms and #smallbusinesses, that’s a win for our community and our taste buds :) 
Bread by @riseabove_413 Photo by @wheelhouse.farm

#RealPickles #PackedWithAMission #fermented #raw #organic #garlickraut #repost #beautifulfood #hyperlocal #eatlocalfood #naturallyfermented #kraut  #fermentation #northeastgrown
It's Friday which means it's time to introduce you It's Friday which means it's time to introduce you to another member of the Real Pickles team! This week we'd like you to meet Fermentation Manager and worker-owner Katie Korby. In 2011, Katie was farming and looking for a part time job that she could feel good about. She knew she had found her people when, on her first day as a production assistant, folks broke into song while sweeping the floor during cleanup! Katie took some time off when her daughter was born and to help her husband, Stoneman, of @stonemanbrewery , start his brewery in their back yard. When she returned to Real Pickles she took on the role of Fermentation Manager. Katie oversees all aspects of our fermentation process; she tests each batch, develops new recipes, and implements food safety practices and certifications. 
When Katie isn't at Real Pickles she can be found tending her gardens, raising pigs and chickens, knitting, or hanging out and probably baking something with her 6 year old daughter Maggie. Katie is also one of the musicians on staff that play live music to our fermenting vegetables on a weekly basis! Maybe that is one of her secrets for producing such wonderful ferments! 

#MeetThePicklers #RealPickles #PackedWithAMission #fermentedandraw #fermented #peekbehindthemask #organic #pickles #kraut #coop #workerowned #fermentation
@nofamass presents “Food Security for the Common @nofamass presents “Food Security for the Common Wealth” 
Friday JAN 8 - Sunday JAN 10, 2021 
Virtual workshops, intensives, keynote speeches and an online auction with amazing items (including a Real Pickles sampler) to bid on! 
Event registration: https://cvent.me/ZQZ8Nm
Auction: https://go.rallyup.com/wcauction2021

#organicfarming #organic #northeastgrown #nofa #foodsecurity #workshop #auction #fundraising
#TopNine2020 - What a year! Big thanks and love to #TopNine2020 - What a year! Big thanks and love to our farmers, community, supporters and fellow fermenters. Our commitment for 2021 is to continue to promote human and ecological health by providing delicious, nourishing food. We wish everyone a healthy, peaceful, and joy-filled new year! 

#RealPickles #PackedWithAMission #WorkerOwned #naturallyfermented #organic #raw #kraut #pickles #cabbage #sauerkraut #fermentation #northeastgrown #goodfoodaward #cooppeople #gocoop #happynewyear
Make a resolution to start each day with vibrant a Make a resolution to start each day with vibrant and delicious ferments! Thanks @hannahhenderson_ for sharing this beautiful creation with us. Show us your breakfast!

#RealPickles #PackedWithAMission #fermented #raw #organic #avocadotoast #beets #turmerickraut #breakfast #kraut @ithacahummus

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