Royal company dedicated to improvement of soil health

ROYAL CITY - It should not be surprising that Royal entrepreneur Thad Schutt is comfortable working with farmers. He was born and raised near Sunnyside on a family farm.

Schutt helped his family work leased land until the Schutts purchased farm ground of their own. They raised asparagus, wheat, mint, corn and other irrigated rotation crops.

After high school, Schutt earned a flight technology degree from Central Washington University, graduating in 1991. He then began working as an aerial applicator.

"I enjoyed my work as a crop duster; It really was enjoyable," he said. "But I'd come home at night, and my wife would look at me and express her relief that I was still alive. After about a year, I could see that wasn't my best career path."

Schutt was teaching flight instruction and working part-time jobs when an opportunity popped up with AM Todd Group, a mint-flavoring company. He was a crop consultant/field rep/buyer based in Idaho. He was promoted to North American procurement manager in 2001.

When AM Todd started a composting division, Schutt moved back to Washington state to help manage it. Royal Organic Products was incorporated as an LLC by AM Todd in 2006. Not long after that, AM Todd was sold to WILD Flavors, a Swiss company.

When the composting division didn't fit with the vision of the new company owners, this presented an opportunity for Schutt and two partners, Chuck Graaff and Tyler Schilperoot. They purchased the existing compost business unit.

All three of the partners had been involved with management of the composting division since its inception. One of their first moves was to focus on the development of an efficient, easy-to-apply compost product to augment their established bulk market for agriculture, gardening and landscaping.

"We produce two separate products," Schutt noted. "The Soil SupliMint product is mint-based, made only from the spent mint hay after mint oil extraction. It's a nutrient-rich, organic compost, especially suited for organic ag. uses."

"Our Royal Classic Compost is made from yard waste, food scraps and other common green waste," Schutt added. "No manure or biosolids are included in this material."

Royal Organic Products originally began working with irrigated growers. At the same time, the owners were brainstorming how it could be made practical for dryland small grains production.

"Our products work well in bulk application on open ground production at rates between two and five tons per acre," Schutt said. "The compost is applied, then incorporated into the top three to five inches of soil with a harrow or a disc."

Unfortunately, hauling, applying and incorporating so many tons of material is labor intensive and uses quite a bit of fuel. The compost runs about $23 per bulk ton, so total cost can be up to $70 to $100 per acre for the material before hauling and spreading.

"After having discussions with direct seed wheat growers, we realized if we could formulate the compost so it could be applied with their drills, it could open up an entire new market for our compost products," Schutt said.

"Instead of applying in bulk quantities, the idea of pelletizing the compost came up. We began consultations with a company that specializes in pelletizing various materials. After extensive research, we found the ideal pellet shape, design and hardness. We also discovered that the temperature at which the pellets are manufactured is very critical for the pellets to preserve the microbiology for delivery to the soil."

The end result of the research and development was Compell, a pelletized compost product for precision application with direct seed drills, either via the dry fertilizer system or applied by mixing directly with the seed. The pelletized compost does not harm the seed, even when planted together.

"Placing the compost in the seed zone delivers the nutrients, organic matter and microbiology right where the seed can use it most efficiently," Schutt said.

"With a precision application of Compell, we have found between 40 to 50 pounds per acre is usually ideal," Schutt added. "At about 25 cents per pound for the product, that is $10 to $13 per acre, and the cost of hauling the material is much less than bulk. The application essentially costs nothing extra, because the drill is already seeding each field."

Royal Organic Products has hired a third-party research expert to validate the field testing results from application of their compost products.

Dr. Jill Clapperton, an internationally known soil health scientist based in Spokane, has been studying field tests to provide documentation of yield increases and improved soil health benefits gained from the compost applications.

"From our testing so far, as a supplement with full fertilizer applications, we have seen yield increases in wheat of 20 to 24 percent," Schutt said. "With barley and canola, it has been more than 30 percent yield increases compared to control plots.

There are two separate facilities involved in producing the products. The composting facility is between Royal City and Vantage. The pelletizing plant is located near George.

The pelletizing unit is up and running. Schutt hopes to manufacture 25,000 tons of Compell pelletized compost this year.