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This looks
like a good group....just formed and obviously needed....
Cheers,
Jeff L
We are proud to be making the following
announcement... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- COMPOST TEA INDUSTRY COUNCIL FORMED Bellevue, Washington Recognizing that advances in compost tea making have created the need to insure the confidence of the growing consumer public using and brewing compost teas, several members of the industry today announced formation of The International Compost Tea Council. "The ICTC is a non-profit organization dedicated to the science and integrity of compost tea," explained Tina Peterson, the acting Executive Director of the group. The use of compost tea in organic gardening and farming as well as for yard care has grown dramatically in the past five years. "It has only been recently that scientists have begun to understand, test for and document the full range of interactions of beneficial micro- organisms in soils and their importance to plants. We want to make sure that this science is applied properly," Peterson continued. "It has become obvious that an organization was needed to acknowledge and answer questions, provide supporting research and information, and try and unify the voices of this new industry," explained one of the incorporating members, Steve Burstkern, an independent tea consultant. "In addition to questions from the public, regulating agencies also need sound, scientific data," he added. The modern day use of compost tea is an offshoot of better understanding of soil science brought about in the past 18 years largely a result of the electron microscope. Aerating a compost, water and microbial nutrient mix makes today's compost teas a vast improvement over passive, anaerobic compost and water teas previously used. It is out of this science that a new technology, though based on older natural methods, has been born. " The manufacture of aerobic compost tea and brewers and tea application itself have resulted in a growing industry. On top of everything else, we need to set a standard to insure the highest quality within our own industry first," added Leon Hussey, manufacturer of a home brewer and another of the incorporating members, "and an industry wide council is the way to do that best." Membership is open to all individuals interested in compost tea, from the homeowner to the professional brewer manufacturer and all related industries. Providing education and information for all levels of expertise is a key role for this group. The ICTC will be hosting seminars on compost tea and organic practices. Visit www.intlctc.org <http://www.intlctc.org/> for information and science on compost tea, events, news, information, standards and membership requirements. |