EcoCover Demonstration Farm
Sustainable Agriculture at Work in Tennessee

Starting in 2007, Neal Creek Farm will be the first working demonstration farm for EcoCover in the USA.

EcoCover is a paper mulch mat made up to 87-percent by weight from recycled waste paper and post consumer recycled paper that might otherwise go to landfill.  It is a patented laminate which can include organic fertilizer and other soil nutrients that feed plants as it decomposes.

• EcoCover is 100% biodegradable.
   
• There is nothing to take up or dispose of, you till it in to the soil.
   
• Independently conducted agricultural research has shown repeatedly and conclusively that EcoCover does a better job than plastic to:
   
  • Stop weed growth
     
  • Increase agricultural yields and plant growth - 29.4% for tomatoes and 42.3% for green peppers in a recent trial and the only difference was EcoCover.
     
  • Conserve irrigation water and preserve soil moisture - Read Water Shortages A Global Problem then read EcoCover Water Conservation Research
     
  • Moderate soil temperatures (EcoCover is a better insulator than plastic)
     
  • Reduce plant mortality
     
• EcoCover enriches the soil, reduces or eliminates the need for chemical herbicides, reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.
   
• EcoCover products are environmentally positive.  See our family of agricultural mulch products here.

Agricultural mulch is used worldwide to control weeds and conserve soil moisture for vegetable and berry crops, orchards, vineyards, horticulture, landscaping and commercial nursery growers.  Home gardeners also use mulch.

Most agricultural mulch used around the world today is plastic film or plastic sheeting made mostly from natural gas feed stocks in the USA and Canada, and from petroleum in the rest of the world.  Annual consumption of plastic film for mulch exceeds 30,000,000 acres worldwide and over 3,000,000 acres in the United States.

The use of fossil fuels to make agricultural mulch is not long-term sustainable.  Prices have risen sharply in the past several years following increases in gas and oil prices.  Fossil fuel prices will not be coming down.  Demand is rising and supplies are near, or some say past, peak.

These are some of the reasons we have invented EcoCover, and our long term goal is to replace plastic as the predominate agricultural mulch.

If you are using plastic now, look at EcoCover.  Our EcoCrop™ is cost competitive with plastic film when you include take up and disposal costs.  Read more down the page about the many benefits.

If you are manufacturing or distributing plastic film, look at EcoCover.  EcoCover is profitable to manufacture and will be replacing plastic worldwide as oil and gas prices continue to rise.  You can manufacture EcoCover yourself.  Read about the best new business opportunity.

Read Plastic Product Prices Rise As Natural Gas Prices Soar.

Taking up and disposing of plastic agricultural mulch is one of the biggest headaches and unaccounted for (in the initial purchase price) expenses of using plastic.  EcoCover helps solve solid waste disposal problems that are prevalent almost everywhere in the world.  When a farmer, gardener, vineyard or orchard mulches with EcoCover, the end result of the product is tilled into the soil and becomes additional humus and earthworm castings.  There is nothing to take up, nothing to dispose of, no waste, no harm.

EcoCover is not yet being manufactured in North America.  We are working to sell the manufacturing plants to make the patented products locally.  Eventually, agriculture will become a localized activity again.  Read about agriculture future trends here.  Shipping agricultural inputs across the country and around the world will not be economically, environmentally or energy cost feasible.

Ron,

Just wanted to let you know we have put down the EcoCover and it is REALLY a great product.  I hope we can get more next year.  It is FAR superior to plastic.  Are you going to set-up a manufacturing plant out west?  I know MANY organic producers would love to use this product.

James Cassidy
CSS Instructor
Faculty Research Assistant - Soil Physics Laboratory
OSU Organic Growers Club - Member/Marketing Director/Faculty Advisor
Oregon State University

Read what other EcoCover mulch users say.

It appears highly likely that we will have a manufacturing plant in the USA in time for the Spring 2007 growing season, which will make James Cassidy happy.  If you would like to stay informed regarding our progress, sign up for EcoCover email news at the bottom of our contact form.

Previous organic mulch newsletters are online here.

If you are interested the best new business opportunity available, read more, and there is more information about small business opportunities and ideas here.

Visit EcoCover in New Zealand.