Tuesday, Feb 6
Full Day Workshops Click on the workshop title for more details | ||||
| Title | Instructors | Time | Fees member/ nonmember | |
| Foundations of Composting This intensive and interactive one-day training will cover the basic concepts, practices and “how to’s” of commercial compost production. The course will provide a broad foundation for novice compost operators, managers and regulators and will refresh veteran composters on the underlying scientific principles. Subjects will include: Basic principles of composting, process insights, facility design and management, feedstock properties, qualities of compost, odor control, major processing methods, and an overview of markets for compost. Serves as a review in preparation for the Certified Compost Operations Manager™ test or the Certified Composting Professional™ test. | Robert Rynk and Matthew Cotton | 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM | $387/$478 | |
| Compost Sales & Marketing Welcome to an all-inclusive course on successfully branding, pricing, marketing, selling, and distributing your compost while developing & maintaining key relationships through the process. This course is suitable for both beginners and those experts looking to increase their sales. | Ryan Cerrato | 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM | $387/$478 | |
| Adding Food Waste to your Compost Facility Operational and structural strategies to upgrade windrows and static piles to handle high energy feedstocks with mixes, pile shape, turning frequency and passive or forced aeration. During this workshop the instructors will breakdown the process of making decisions on how best to use the tools and resources a facility already has or may want and transitioning the operation to handle the contaminants and the much more aggressive biological process that food wastes present. | Michael Bryan-Brown, Aurel Lubke and Rik Langendoen | 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM | $387/$478 | |
Half Day Workshops | ||||
| Compost Use in Crops and Landscape The horticultural industry is the primary consumer of compost in the world. Therefore, the composting process represents the most widespread recycling technology in organic waste in agriculture. Compost can be used in horticulture, including food, ornamental, and turfgrass crop production. Parameters such as soil type, climatic conditions, crop type, compost quality, rate, timing, and application methods will determine the crop's success with the compost application. Farmers/growers can use compost as a soil conditioner or nutrient source to supplement the crop fertility program. Nevertheless, compost will improve soil quality and fertilizer use, improving crop production systems' performance. | Dr. Monica Hampton | 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM | $260/$292 | |
| Regenerative Farming, Composting, Teas, Vermicomposting, and DNA Sequencing This workshop will explain the complementary nature of composting, lawn care and regeneratve farming. We will share our experience with the application of compost and extracts on regeneratve farms, including how to use vermicompost to enhance the microbial content of other composts. We will explain why microbes are important to agriculture, and how to evaluate them with microscopes and hand-held DNA sequencers. Hands-on demonstrations will include a continuous flow vermi-composter, compost extractor, microscope, and DNA sequencer. We will include case studies of small/midsize-scale compost/extract/vermicompost production in regenerative farming and lawn care. | Laura Kavanaugh and Simeon Kleinsasser | 1:00 - 4:30 PM | $260/$292 | |
| Compost Carbon Connection This course will provide a detailed overview of the connection between compost and climate change, and the opportunity for composting operations and use to help reduce the impacts of climate change. Participants will leave with a good understanding of the connection between climate and composting, and with an understanding of compost operations factors impacting greenhouse gas emissions as well as potential (although still limited) opportunities for developing carbon credits associated with composting operations and sales. | Sally Brown, Andrew Carpenter and Scott Subler | 1:00 - 4:30 PM | $260/$292 | |
| Community Composting Systems: New Projects and Scaling Up Existing Projects This half-day workshop will cover composting systems for farm and community settings from DIY solar-powered systems to branded ASP systems. Small- to medium-sized equipment providers will guest speak including . Also featured will be screeners for community compost sites such as the Lower East Side Ecology Center’s new electric trommel design (in collaboration with Bruno Navarro). This workshop will be co-led by Brenda Platt and Linda Bilsens Brolis of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance with Khari Diop of Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture, who is based in Atlanta. | Brenda Platt, Linda Bilsens Brolis, and Khari Diop | 1:00 - 4:30 PM | $260/$292 | |
| * Attending a workshop is a separate fee NOT included in a Full Conference Registration. | ||||
Tours | ||||
| Compost Facility Tour Tour Florida’s Commercial Compost and Biochar Facility - Sunshine Compost! Having recently received a $4.9M grant from USDA to expand its composting efforts, attendees will see and learn first-hand how Sunshine Compost collects, processes and returns food, agricultural and forestry waste into nutrient-rich compost and biochar. This is a must-see facility with speakers from Apple Rabbit Compost and University of Florida/IFAS Duval County. Tour leaves Daytona and stops in St. Augustine, Florida for tour of St. Augustine Alligator Farm and early lunch and continues to Jacksonville, Florida. (This tour will have limited seating.) | 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM | $176/$242 | ||
| Daytona International Speedway Tour* Tour the World Center of Racing including Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, 2023 DAYTONA 500 Champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s winning No.47 Kroger/Cottenelle Chevy Camaro, Pit Shop and more. After-tour includes a walk across the pedestrian bridge to visit One Daytona for shopping and lunch at any number of restaurants. *Due to on-track activity and event preparations around Daytona 500 practice, this tour will be confirmed in January 2024. Registration is first come first served; refunds if necessary. | 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM | $125/$175 | ||