Craig G. Cogger
Closing the Organic Recycling Loop
Municipalities and farms produce thousands of tons of organic by-products each year – materials that often have been treated as wastes, leading to water and air pollution and lost economic value. To address these problems, Craig Cogger and his research partners have been engaged in field and laboratory research for more than 15 years, evaluating environmentally and economically sound ways to recycle these materials on farms and in urban landscapes.
Because many of these organic by-products are suitable for use on organic farms, in 2002, Cogger embarked on a new program focused on organic farming systems in western Washington. In collaboration with colleagues in Rural Sociology, Entomology, and Crop and Soil Sciences, he listened to the needs of local organic vegetable producers and developed a long-term organic systems project to address those needs, comparing 12 organic management systems with differing amendment, tillage and cover cropping strategies. This systems research integrates traditional nutrient management with soil quality, weed and pest management, and production economics. In addition, Cogger and colleagues are involved in on-farm research on organic vegetable farms across western Washington.
Cogger continues to work on nutrient management for recycled organic by-products. His long-term collaboration with Dan Sullivan at Oregon State University and Andy Bary at WSU has led to regional nutrient management guidelines for yard debris, composts, biosolids (from wastewater treatment plants), separated dairy manure solids, poultry litter, and a variety of other materials, including seed, feather, and fish meals. As part of a national team, they developed nationwide guidelines for biosolids nutrient management.
His work with organic amendments extends into the urban arena, where he and Rita Hummel of the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture have established long-term field research assessing the effects of different compost amendment strategies on soil quality and plant survival and health in urban landscapes. They have also worked with the City of Tacoma to develop a potting mix and landscape mulch using Tacoma’s Class A biosolids. The potting mix is now commercially available on the local market.
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Contact Information
Craig G. Cogger, Ph.D.
Scientist / Extension Specialist
Crop and Soil Sciences
Washington State University
7612 Pioneer Way E.
Puyallup WA 98371-4998
Telephone: 253-445-4512
Fax: 253-445-4569
E-mail: cogger@wsu.edu
Craig G. Cogger , Ph.D.,
From watching vegetables grow in the family garden, to observing insects and amphibians in local ponds and woods, tracking the weather around his New England home, and identifying trees and shrubs on Boy Scout hikes, Craig Cogger developed his interest in environmental science at an early age. After earning B.S. and M.S. degrees in chemistry from Bowdoin College and Cornell University, he fulfilled his passion for studying environmental science by earning a Ph.D. in soil science from Cornell. During his career, his research has included many facets of soil and the environment, including the fate of phosphorus applied to cultivated organic soils, the performance of conventional and alternative septic systems, soil color patterns as evidence of seasonal high water tables, the risk of pesticide leaching to ground water, recycling organic by-products in agricultural and urban landscapes, and organic farming systems. He has been research and extension soil scientist at WSU Puyallup since 1984, and is author or co-author on 30 refereed journal articles and more than 30 extension publications.
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