Worms Lead All The Way To A New Career

In Business, November-December, 2006, Vol. 28, No. 6, p. 10

From hobby to educator, earthworms take Matthew Lange from the university classroom to full-fledged waste conversion … and methods that have great potential.

WHEN a person thinks of a hobby for a 24-year-old man, worms are not the first thing that come to mind. For Matthew Lange of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection in Madison, worms are beyond a hobby. They are part of a greater interest in educating people on the benefits of composting. Lange has been researching composting methods for over six years and educating people on its uses for the past two years. He became interested in worms after being exposed to composting in high school. He quickly learned that worms have a huge appetite and can be used in composting to break down material faster. “I developed an interest in composting because of its effectiveness and its relative simplicity,” explains Lange. “Little did I know where that interest was going to take me.”
In the fall of 2001, Lange enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville majoring in Agricultural Business and Political Science. Although most of his time was spent crunching numbers and attempting to understand political theory, he found consolation in the laboratory and university farm trying to tackle issues not taught in books. While at school, Lange earned an agricultural fellowship grant in compost research. He studied compost techniques related to the university's swine facility and conducted tests on composting and vermicomposting food waste. During those four years, Lange spent a great deal of time learning about the chemistry and biology behind composting and used that knowledge to design and test more efficient ways of breaking down material.
“I wasn't so interested in the scientific procedure as much as I was in getting results that actually worked,” admits Lange. “ I quickly realized that I could manipulate factors and inconsistencies in a controlled environment, but then I thought the world isn't a controlled environment. If my results work only when certain conditions were met, than how will someone be able to implement my suggestions or ideas in a real world scenario. That is when I moved my research from the lab to the farm and my backyard. I knew I may never get my name attached to a published article, but as long as I was able to help my grandma grow tastier and healthier tomatoes in her garden, then that was fine by me.”

POLITICAL APPLICATIONS
Lange is still crunching numbers and learning about political applications in his role as a Community Service Specialist with the Wisconsin Farm Center. Since his internship with the Farm Center in the summer of 2004, Lange has assisted in providing support to several programs and services offered to Wisconsin farmers. He works closely with financial advisors and agricultural attorneys as well as providing assistance to beginning farmers and is also a trained mediator.
Similar to his college days, Lange still finds solace in his work with worms: “It sounds rather humorous, I have worms. Most family and friends tease me about raising worms, but I don't mind. I enjoy managing them and experimenting with their potential. Sometimes, after working long hours and dealing with complex issues, I look forward to any peaceful opportunity I may have with them. It is my way of relaxing, I guess.”

RESEARCH APPLICATIONS
In his research at UW-Platteville, Lange focused on food waste and swine manure: “My research at Platteville was three-fold. First, I wanted to compare nutrient values between conventional composted food waste and vermicomposted food waste. Second, I wanted to create a practical compost recipe for gardeners and residential folks to use that would be cost-effective and easy. Third, I wanted to observe and record worm and microbial activity in various environmental conditions. These three areas allowed me to establish guidelines for developing, maintaining and harvesting a successful compost system.”
Lange used results of his studies and experience with small compost systems to assess the development of a university composting system. The UW-Platteville swine facility is a state-of-the-art, double-decker building with pigs on the second floor and a compost system below. The fecal matter falls through slats on the second floor and is composted in with straw and microbes on the lower level. “This was a much different atmosphere than I was used to, both in smell and scale,” Lange explains. “It was a great experience though and gave me a new perspective into composting possibilities.”
Since then he has expanded his research to include worm reproduction, worm casting uses and tests on various animal excrement's and food scraps. “Understanding worm reproduction is vital not only to population growth, but also to the health of a compost system and the value it produces. It is also important to address the physical characteristics by consistently measuring moisture and CO2 levels and calculating temperature fluctuations. In my opinion, these physical properties are the most important,” says Lang.
Along with addressing reproduction and physical properties, Lange also experiments with various types of carbon and nitrogen sources. His focus is on sources found around the home or in the back yard, utilizing material that is readily available. “I don't want it to be a chore for people to find things to add to their compost pile,” says Lange. “Just make do with what is at hand and make the most of it.”

EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH
Right now, Lange is trying to balance research and educational outreach, which is proving to be a time-consuming task: “Establishing a network is vital to the growth of composting and understanding its impact on the environment and business. It is just as important to continue addressing questions and ideas through innovative research. I try to integrate the two areas into one key initiative, use research to produce practical and innovative ideas for people to use.” Lange has presented his research to multiple Master Gardener groups and at lawn and garden expos across the state of Wisconsin. His presentations range from general compost care to earthworm development.
Lange's presentations are detail oriented and are a blend of theoretical contents and hands-on applications: “I approach composting and vermicomposting from an environmental, time, and economic value standpoint. In my workshops and presentations I stress that we cannot look at manure, food scraps, yard debris, and other compost items as waste, rather inputs in value-added uses.” Along with a philosophical approach to composting, Lange focuses on giving people the tools in order to establish a compost system themselves.

THE FUTURE
While Lange has made great strides in research and educating the public, he has not yet accomplished many of the projects and tasks on his list. The first priority on his list is to continue research. “There are several projects I am currently involved in including: grass propagation and fertilization with worm castings, developing new casting tea mixtures, and analyzing new compost management methods,” Lange says. Along with more experimentation, Lange also has hopes of developing a web site and writing a manual on the basics of vermicomposting: “I also plan on hosting workshops for educators to bring much of what I have learned back into the classroom.” The interest in composting is growing and so is the need for Lange's experience in this field. He has partnered with several groups on projects and is continually summoned to present research and host trainings. It is easy to see that this hobby for Matthew Lange has become something larger - a true passion.

Matthew Lange (and his research) can be emailed at mglgrad@yahoo.com. Or to: matt.lange@datcp.state.wi.us.

Copyright 2007, The JG Press, Inc.