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Paddock Wood Farm in Gig Harbor, Washington

Margaret Lapin and her husband purchased Paddock Wood Farm in 1989 with the goal of protecting the peace and tranquility of a 50-acre parcel just outside of the Seattle-Tacoma Metropolitan area. Prior to their owning the farm, it had operated for nearly 30 years as a breeding farm for Arabian horses. Recently, Margaret began to renovate the barns, covered arena, pastures and farm manager's residence. The 50 acres have been successfully permitted as the first low-impact, low-density development in the region with 25 acres donated to the local Conservation Society. This project includes permanent easements for a network of riding trails that weave through and around the property.

With 26 stalls, Margaret understood the need to properly manage the manure generated on the farm in order to prevent adverse impacts to surface and ground water resources. With design and operator training provided by O2Compost, an old hay barn was converted into a four-bay aerated compost system. With the County's blessing, much of the finished compost has been used onsite for erosion control along the sides of newly constructed roads. The balance of the compost is purchased by local landscapers, and nearby residents have been added to a waiting list for this coming spring.

Welcoming a New Employee

It is our pleasure to introduce Kirsten Brockman as the newest member of O2Compost. Kirsten joined us in July and is serving as our Training Program Coordinator. Her primary role is to help our clients through the step-by-step training process and to guarantee their success.

She is our liaison to ensure that each facet of every Training Program is completed in a timely and friendly manner. To read more about Kirsten, visit: www.o2compost.com/content/About_O2Compost.htm

Trends and Innovations

In future Newsletters and Blog Dispatches, we will be updating you on new trends in the composting industry and innovations with the O2Compost Training Program. For example, we will be discussing:

Solar Powered Compost Systems - Our first solar powered compost system has just come on-line and it is working beautifully. We are also working with an electrical engineer in Scottsdale, Arizona, to come up with a way to simply and cost-effectively help horse farms "get off the grid".

New Features at O2Compost - We have just recently completed expansion of www.o2compost.com. Our goals were to make it easier to navigate and present more information about all aspects of horse health and stable management.

New Training Program Options - In October, we expanded our Training Program options to include a compost system for every horse owner. These include: 1) an expanded Micro-Bin Kit; 2) our Cornerstone Compost System with standard designs and 2 months of technical support; 3) our Sterling Compost System with custom designs and unlimited technical support; and 4) our Paragon Compost System with a Compost Building Kit by Barn Pros.

Compost Training Instructions Now in Spanish - Many of our clients employ Hispanic work crews who oversee the composting system. To bridge this language barrier, we are in the process of preparing a set of summary instructions in Spanish with our Sterling and Paragon Compost Systems.

O2Compost Web-based Seminars (Webinars) - As the number of people who contact us to learn more about composting manure and other farm-based residuals increases, it has become somewhat daunting to speak personally with each and every person. In early 2009, we will utilize current technology to our best advantage by conducting web-based seminars. This is a free and very easy process that involves logging in to a website for the visual component and calling a toll-free number for the audio portion.

The O2Compost On-Line Store - Also in 2009, we will be launching the O2Compost On-Line Store. All of our Training Programs and related products will be available for purchase along with a wide (and growing) selection of specialty items that are designed specifically to improve farm chore efficiency. Many of these will be directly related to Karen Hayes' books, "The Perfect Stall" and "How to be the Perfect Horsekeeper".

Heat Recovery Experiments - We are in the process of setting up an expanded Micro-Bin that will include a simple heat exchanger to heat water circulated with a small pump. The reservoir is a plastic 55-gallon barrel that will be kept in a greenhouse. We will monitor temperatures in the compost pile, the reservoir, and the greenhouse throughout the cold winter ahead.