The “chicken bill” passed - on-farm composting of food residuals is a farming practice!
S.102 passed today with a Senate vote in concurrence to the House amendments. While the latest version of the bill is not online yet, consider this side-by-side that highlights the latest House amendments in comparison to the bill as passed by the Senate. The bill means a milestone for soil health in Vermont - allowing farmers to produce the valuable compost they need to enhance soils and support their crops. S.102 is creating a pathway for the priority use of food residuals for the “agricultural use, including the consumption by animals” as laid out in the Universal Recycling Law .
At the core, S.102 amends the definition of farming in Act 250 and the RAP's to allow for the importation of 2,000 cubic yards per year or less of food residuals or food processing residuals onto a farm for the production of compost, provided that:
(i) the compost is principally used on the farm where it is produced; or
(ii) the compost is produced on a small farm that raises or manages poultry.
AAFM is charged to initiate rulemaking on or before January 1, 2022. In the interim, practitioners are held to comply with Sections 6–1101 through 6–1111 of the Agency of Natural Resources’ Vermont Solid Waste Management Rules. AAFM has the authority to regulate soil amendments, plant amendments and plant biostimulants aside from fertilizers that are already under their purview. This will allow farmers to Close-The-Nutrient-Loop by creating valuable composts for soil enhancement while also providing AAFM with the oversight to keep plastics out of Vermont soils - ensuring that their rules are “equal to or better” than the current ANR rules with respect to protecting public health and the environment.
To avoid future conflicts with neighbors around projected nuisance complaints, S. 102 prohibits a farm from initiating the production of compost from food residuals or food processing residuals on or after July 1, 2021 within a downtown, village center, new town center, neighborhood development area, or growth center, unless the municipality has expressly allowed composting in the designated area under the municipal zoning or subdivision bylaws or in an approved municipal plan.
The Poultry Farmers for Compost Foraging and I are excited to celebrate this success with you in spirit today! These pioneering farmers have been operating under a variance from ANR to obtain solid waste permits for years to persistently advocate for their innovative agricultural practice of “compost foraging” - where poultry is allowed access to forage on the compost piles of food residuals.