Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Trouble brewing over coffee grind fertilizer

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Jim Lester of Lester's Farm Chalet in St. John's, Nfld., has been using coffee grounds as a substitute for commercial fertilizer since 2009 without encountering any problems. But now a disgruntled neighbour says the stink created by the junked java is simply unbearable.    

Two CBC News stories, posted on Oct. 20 and Oct. 22, tell both sides of the story. One presents an innovative farmer who, by adding coffee grounds and other organic waste collected from local businesses to his compost, is less reliant on chemical fertilizers and diverts an estimated 2,000 tons of material from local landfills every year. The other shows a fed-up local resident, Leonard Collins, who says he can't open his windows or sit on his patio for the stink and blowing coffee grounds.

Lester told the CBC that "we are in an agricultural zone, and certain agricultural activities do create, for want of a better word, a smell, but it's accepted agricultural activity. It's not harmful to your health; it's purely a cosmetic issue."

Collins says the coffee ground pile is the size of a football field and is directly across from his property. "It's got to have some kind of concrete barrier, or it has to be moved," he told the CBC. "I don't understand why it got to be dumped on a main road. This is a main road, in front of someone's house. It doesn't make sense to me."

Maybe the two of them can discuss it over a cup of coffee? BF

Current Issue

March 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Farmer Planting Decisions for 2025 Taking Shape

Thursday, March 13, 2025

As farmers across Canada prepare for the 2025 crop year, Statistics Canada says their planting decisions reflect a complex mix of factors including moisture conditions, crop rotation considerations, and market prices. Nationally, farmers are expected to plant more wheat, corn for... Read this article online

Grain Growers of Sounding the Alarm Over U.S. Tariffs

Monday, March 10, 2025

Not surprisingly, the Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) is raising concerns over the United States' decision to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian grain and grain products, a move that could jeopardize the livelihoods of family-run grain farms and lead to higher food prices for American... Read this article online

International Women’s Day – Angela Cammaert

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

As International Women’s Day approaches on March 8, Farms.com is asking women in ag about what they’d tell their younger selves about being a farmer, to give a piece of advice to young women entering the ag sector, and to highlight a woman in agriculture they consider a mentor or... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top