OTHELLO — Erika Rattray is ringing in the new year with a plan for a brand-new composting process for her two businesses, Basin Farmworks and Ironworks Cafe and Market, with a $10,000 grant from American Farmland Trust to cover the expenses. 

“I got it to do a worm farm,” Rattray said. “I grow stuff on my farm. Any vegetables and stuff, they come here and are used at Ironworks, and I want to work on reducing our waste impact and carbon footprint … and it’s cheaper to grow your own produce, and it's fresher. So that's kind of my goal and I like it because when we use our product at Ironworks, I know exactly where it's coming from, who grew it and all that good stuff.”

The funding is provided through the AFT’s Brighter Future Fund, which supports projects and improvements for commercial farmers across the U.S., according to the AFT website. For Rattray, the $10,000 – provided upfront to Basin Farmworks rather than by reimbursement – will go toward setting up a compost pile that will be aerated and produce fertilizer at the bottom of the pile with worms sitting at the top, she said. 

“I wanted to make it a closed-loop circle, meaning all of the waste that we take here from Ironworks is going to create worm poop, which is essentially fertilizer, and it's better for your soil,” Rattray said. “So we’re going to take the waste here, compost it and feed it to worms.”

Rattray said the composting is part of her efforts to improve her operations at both Basin Farmworks and Ironworks and tie the two businesses together more closely.

“I'm really trying this year, for both my businesses, to make things better, not only reduce waste,” she said. “Both my businesses now have solar panels and are using more energy-efficient things. So, I'm trying to be as eco-friendly and environmentally friendly as I can.”

Rattray said she has started looking for ways to be more environmentally friendly since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Last year I kind of started looking at things, because of COVID. After COVID we changed our dumpster size and I was just like, ‘Man, I'm throwing away a lot of things that don't necessarily need to be thrown away here. I can compost and I can recycle them.’ The only problem is, in Othello the only recycling we have is cardboard, which is super unfortunate. So one of the things that helped is that there's now a scrap yard in Othello. So all of our cans from Red Bull or all of our soup cans, we take those to get recycled, and that's awesome because it reduces our trash waste, and then I would like to reduce our food waste. My goal is to get down to one dumpster for Ironworks.”

Rattray said the grant money is enough to cover the project’s expenses. 

“We don't produce a ton of food waste, but we do produce some, and then I've been slowly – we'll see how well it goes because we are doing things that are pretty common in other areas but are different for Othello – we just are finishing up using our to-go plastic silverware, and then we're switching to wood so they can be composted,” she said. “I would like to be able to compost as much as I can, but some things I can't, like our plastic lids, and obviously milk jugs. But it is my goal to reduce that. I think it's important and I would like to see other businesses take that approach too.”

The composting will help Ironworks supplement Basin Farmworks, which has traditionally supplemented Ironworks.

“I just like that it's going to be a give-take from both businesses as opposed to Basin Farmworks growing all the produce and then selling them (at Ironworks) but then Ironworks isn’t doing that,” Rattray said. “Now both businesses are putting back out, which is awesome.”

Rattray said she found the grant application process accessible for a business owner such as herself.

“This is just a small scale but I'm hoping that other restaurants can use it as a model,” she said, “because there's a lot of food waste that happens in restaurants and I think as a state, as we get away from plastics, it's important to see alternatives – and it's better for your soil.”

Gabriel Davis may be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com. Download the Columbia Basin Herald app on iOS and Android.

    Basin Farmworks, located in Othello, grows produce that supplements Ironworks Cafe and Market. Erika Rattray, who runs both businesses, plans on installing a new composting system using Ironworks food waste.
  

    The outside garden at Ironworks Cafe and Market in Othello. Cafe owner Erika Rattray said she has recently been pushing to make the Cafe more environmentally friendly, which is part of her reason for applying for a grant from American Farmland Trust.
  

    Erika Rattray, pictured inside her business Ironworks Cafe and Market, recently received a $10,000 grant to create a worm composting system at her other business, Basin Farmworks.
  

    Flowers grown at local Othello farm Basin Farmworks. The farm also grows produce that is sold at Ironworks Cafe and Market, also in Othello.