ROMINGER TO DEDICATE NEW COMPOSTING FACILITY IN BELTSVILLE, MD


   					Release No. 0370.97
Media Advisory
 				
		  		     Maria Bynum (202) 720-5192
                                           maria.bynum@usda.gov
                                       Don Comis (301) 344-2748
                                             don.comis@usda.gov


ROMINGER TO DEDICATE NEW COMPOSTING FACILITY IN BELTSVILLE, MD

     WASHINGTON, Oct. 17, 1997--Deputy Agriculture Secretary Richard
Rominger will cut the ribbon for the dedication of USDA's new Compost
Research Facility in Beltsville, Md. on Monday, Oct. 20 at 10:00 a.m.

     The new facility is located at the Beltsville Agricultural Research
Center (BARC) which is part of the Agricultural Research Service, USDA's
chief scientific agency.

     Ten thousand tons of organic residue from BARC's 6,580 acres of
farmland and greenhouses will be composted annually at this new facility. 
The compost will be applied to the center's fields according to a state-approved, voluntary nutrient management plan designed to keep nitrogen and
phosphorus out of the Chesapeake Bay.  This is expected to save the center
$13,000 a year in reduced landfill fees and savings from substituting
compost for fertilizer and landscape mulch.  

     Other research projects at the facility will focus on creating
"designer composts" for different needs.  These include finding new ways to
avoid losing nutrients into the environment, reducing plant disease and
controlling odors during handling and composting of organic residues. 
Designer composts will comprise blends of industrial and urban materials
with farm and garden leftovers.

     The media is invited to attend the dedication at Building 218-Q on
Beaver Dam Road near the intersection with Research Road.

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DIRECTIONS:

From Washington or Baltimore, take the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to the
NASA/USDA exit, Powder Mill Rd.  Go west on Powder Mill, following signs to
parking at ARS's National Visitor Center.  Turn left into driveway of the
Visitor Center's Log Lodge.  Shuttle buses will take visitors the short
distance to the composting center.