Re-Nuble, a company that converts unrecoverable vegetative waste into affordable inputs, said it has launched a project to enhance soil health and resilience in food systems through climate-smart practices. The USDA has allocated a $4.6 million grant for this project, which will be a collaboration with Chapul Farms, an insect farming technology company, and the IPM Institute.
“We want to help farms across the nation grow food more sustainably without exposing them to the typical risks that a grower has to deal with when implementing a new farming practice on-site,” Re-Nuble founder and CEO Tinia Pina said in a news release. “There is a lot on the line for farms when they pivot their operations, so we knew we had to pick the right project partners who would understand the risks that farms will be taking on. Both Chapul Farms and IPM Institute are experts in their fields, and with all of our experiences combined, we know we can achieve this goal with and for the farms.”
The project, part of the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program, helps small and underserved farms in New York, Michigan, Mississippi and Kentucky transform food waste into valuable agricultural inputs. Using black-soldier-fly farming technology, Chapul Farms will process food waste into insect frass — a nutrient-rich agricultural amendment that improves overall soil health and boosts crop yields, the release said. Farms participating in the project will apply the insect frass to the soil in which specific commodities must be grown including apples, corn, leafy greens, squash and tomatoes.
“It’s exciting to see the USDA backing this project because we can now provide these farms, as early adopters, the financial and market incentives to trial new technologies such as insect farming,” said Chapul Farms CEO Patrick Crowley. “Partnering with Re-Nuble and the IPM Institute aligns perfectly with our mission to revolutionize food systems for a sustainable future and we’re eager to introduce insect frass as the future of nutrients for farms across the country.”
Re-Nuble said a signification part of the project is the measurement, quantification, monitoring and verification of the carbon and greenhouse gas benefits associated with these newly implemented practices by the IPM Institute.
“Through our Sustainable Food Group, we have developed a highly skilled team that focuses on developing and implementing programs to advance sustainability in food and agriculture, including [greenhouse gas] emissions analysis,” said Ariel Larson, director of the sustainable food group at IPM Institute. “Our involvement in this project excites the whole team because it combines innovation and agricultural best-practice adoption with direct financial and technical support for farmers, which is crucial when asking farms to trial new practices.”
The project will span three years and work with 16 farms throughout the U.S., which will receive a financial incentive for participating, to trial the use of insect frass produced from food and crop “waste” on specific crops, the release said.
