Sources: Ben Champion, 785-313-3085, champion@k-state.edu; DeAnn Presley, 785-532-1218, deann@k-state.edu; and Rhonda Janke, 785-532-0409, rrjanke@k-state.edu.
Video available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiskVj9g-sw
News release prepared by: Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, 785-532-6415, ebarcomb@k-state.edu
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
COMBINING CAMPUS FOOD 1xbet sports betting WITH EXPERTISE IN AGRICULTURE, K-STATE STUDENTS AND FACULTY UNDERTAKE COMPOSTING EFFORT THAT BRINGS FOOD FULL CIRCLE
MANHATTAN -- Food 1xbet sports betting generated at Kansas State University dining centers may end up back on students' plates through composting efforts that are combining K-State's excellence in agriculture with the university's commitment to sustainability.
K-State dining facilities have partnered with K-State's student farm and College of Agriculture to develop a composting program for food 1xbet sports betting .
&1xbet sports betting ;It will help the students at the student farm with their produce, which they'll end up selling throughout the community,&1xbet sports betting ; said Ben Champion, K-State's director of sustainability. &1xbet sports betting ;Part of that food will go back to the dining centers, so we've got a cycle going here.&1xbet sports betting ;
Brandon Gonzalez, a senior in horticulture from Wichita, is a manager at the student 1xbet sports betting , where students from all majors can help grow vegetables, fruit trees and mushrooms, and cultivate honey. He and Kyla Daugherty, a junior in horticulture from Berryton, pick up about 1,500 pounds worth of preparatory food 1xbet sports betting from two of K-State's dining centers. They drop it off at the student farm and at the department of agronomy's North Farm.
At the student farm, Gonzalez said they cover the 1xbet sports betting with a layer of carbon-rich material like hay. When the 1xbet sports betting has been broken down into usable compost, he said the students will use it on their crops. The compost they are creating now will be used on fall crops like collards and cabbage.
&1xbet sports betting ;It's not going to be like the produce you buy in the store -- this is the good stuff,&1xbet sports betting ; Gonzalez said, noting that the student farm spinach is noticeably sweeter than spinach grown in warmer climates. &1xbet sports betting ;A lot of places get our produce here in Manhattan. It's a local food thing.&1xbet sports betting ;
The food 1xbet sports betting that goes to the North Farm is combined with other organic 1xbet sports betting generated by the College of Agriculture like leaves, tree limbs, seeds, grains and garden 1xbet sports betting . With the help of a large tractor and a turner, Jacob Gouldie, a junior in agricultural economics from Garden City, incorporates new materials into the already-decomposing material.
Part of the compost from the North 1xbet sports betting gets used by the college's researchers for erosion, field and greenhouse experiments.
&1xbet sports betting ;Because we are a land-grant school with such a strong agriculture program -- not just in horticulture but in other units like beef and dairy production -- there are substantial amounts of manure from those operations,&1xbet sports betting ; Champion said. &1xbet sports betting ;We've got those kinds of resources that could be mixed into this process, and we could really develop a lot of high-quality fertilizer for our use on campus and in the community.&1xbet sports betting ;
Although K-State is making great efforts to reduce and recycle all types of 1xbet sports betting on campus, Champion sees potential to reuse other organic 1xbet sports betting on campus.
&1xbet sports betting ;All the food waste in our K-State Student Union food court is potentially compostable now that the Union has purchased compostable plates and biodegradable plasticware,&1xbet sports betting ; he said. &1xbet sports betting ;We're seeing a potential synergy with changes in our purchasing behavior that can actually fuel this other process.&1xbet sports betting ;
DeAnn Presley, extension specialist and assistant professor of agronomy at K-State, obtained the contract from the Kansas Department of health and Environment for the compost operation at the agronomy 1xbet sports betting , while Rhonda Janke, associate professor of horticulture, forestry and recreation resources, developed the student 1xbet sports betting .