Nicholls Farm and Baton Rouge non-profit announce development of compost to prevent coastal land loss

The Nicholls State University Farm in conjunction with the non-profit organization Earth Fiber Organics have officially developed a compost using bagasse filter-pressed mud, composed of waste products from sugar mills, that will help stop coastal land loss in southern Louisiana. The compost, which will be spread along the coast, will help native grasses and trees grow strong root systems, helping to prevent erosion after the next major storm.

“Let me begin by giving our thanks to this parish and administration to hearing our ideas and believing in our project,” said Duane Desselle with Earth Fiber Organics, during a presentation to the Lafourche Parish Council. “I think we can all agree that the single most important issue that faces the state of Louisiana today is coastal land loss– saving our coast and saving Lafourche Parish must be the number one priority, and that is what drove this project to begin with.”

Desselle explained that members of Earth Fiber Organics and Nicholls Farm began looking for waste products with beneficial reuse potential, particularly from the milling and grinding of bagasse product from sugar cane, that could be recycled and returned to the Earth as a compost to help prevent land loss. Bagasse is defined as the dry, pulpy, fibrous material that remains after crushing sugarcane or sorghum stalks to extract their juice. It is used as a biofuel for the production of heat, energy, and electricity, and in the manufacture of pulp and building material.

“We are pleased to stand before today that our pilot project at Nicholls State University has been a success,” said Desselle. “We have individual bags for each of you a finished product of composted bagasse and filter-pressed mud from Raceland Raw Sugar– we encourage you to plant something in this compost at home and watch it grow.”

Members of this project are currently working with several public and private organizations to move the completed bagasse compost from the site at Nicholls to its final destination along the coast in Louisiana.

“There are many terrific coastal restoration projects that have been completed in Louisiana, but in some cases they have run into issues where the organic matter is not meeting the needs to plant native grasses, tress, and more that will have roots that can withstand the erosion from the next major storm,” explained Bagasse. “We hope that our bagasse compost can give these important native plants a fighting chance in the next storm, and their roots can help prevent erosion.”

Earth Fiber Organics and Nicholls Farm are also working with local cane farmers, so they can use the compost in their fields to prevent fertilizer use and moisture retention.

“We have 6,000 yards of material that are finished and ready to move,” said Desselle. “This could not have been possible without the entire coordinated support of this council, the university, and Raceland Raw Sugar. We thank you all so much for your support.”

Stay tuned as Nicholls Farm and Earth Fiber Organics continue to work on this project to help protect the community from coastal land loss, following this groundbreaking success!