Feed Earth Now - Terreplenish

This interview details Feed Earth Now (FEN) Terreplenish, an indoor farming (accelerated food scrap technology) company based in the United States. The interview is with Cathy Scratch, Founder & CEO of Feed Earth Now Terreplenish.

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What is the origin story of Feed Earth Now and Terreplenish?

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I was working as a waste and recycling auditor for big hotels and other businesses that produce large volumes of waste.  I would divert all the basic recyclables such as glass, metal, plastic and turn their waste removal expenses into new revenue streams. While performing a waste audit for a large hotel in Chicago, I encountered a significant hurdle: the hotel's food preparation kitchen alone was generating 10 tons of food scraps per week. The biggest challenge is dealing with the high liquid content of food scraps, which can reach up to 80%. At the time there was no viable solution other than transporting it as waste to a distant landfill to decompose and create methane. 

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That’s when I began my research on finding a sustainable solution to optimize that much food waste in volume. The 10 tons of waste I mentioned earlier were solely from food prep kitchens, excluding any hotel trash and post-consumer restaurant waste. With a background as a raw food chef and my experience with fermenting foods, I built a team of experts in microbiology, composting and regenerative farming. Together we developed a way to harness the power of this liquid.

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By transforming food scraps into Terreplenish®, an end-product rich in regenerative soil microbes, we are not only maximizing value but also contributing to a sustainable and thriving ecosystem.

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In 2014 we were awarded a $250,000 Illinois F-scrap (food scrap) grant, enabling us to construct the very first of its kind industrial scale: acidic anaerobic food waste fermentation system with the aim of establishing our plug and play model throughout the country close to points of food scrap generation.

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We build our first Terreplenish® production site on agricultural farmland due to the rigid regulations imposed by the IEPA. However, the IEPA's rules regarding food scrap primarily revolved around composting, which is a lengthy process taking approximately 6 months to a year. Throughout the standard composting period, methane is generated and released into the atmosphere, this is mainly due to the fact that food waste consists of up to 80% liquid. Thus, the main challenge with food waste lies in managing this liquid component.

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Feed Earth Now’s unique proprietary process involves fermenting the liquid into a stabilized microbial soil solution. We successfully established the first site on agricultural land in Illinois, where we were contracted by a prominent General Mills, Green Giant distribution facility nearby along with the Illinois Food Bank to take all their fruit and vegetable scraps to produce large volumes of our Terreplenish® regenerative soil microbes to cater to both organic and commercial scale farms.

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I learned quickly that you can't simply apply Terreplenish® to crops and expect people to use it right away. Over the last 10 years we’ve conducted trials on more than 100 plant varieties and in different soil types. We’ve completed the stringent and lengthy organic certification process with the California Department of Agriculture (CDFA), OMRI (Organic Material Resource Institute). These certifications provide farmers with the assurance that Terreplenish® won't harm their crops and that it offers substantial benefits such as nitrogen fixing and disease control.

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Several years ago, we started getting orders from hydroponics cultivators and started to take notice when they became our most repeatable customer. We started looking at the specific benefits that were being reported when using Terreplenish® in hydroponics. Other crops that that particularly benefit from regular applications of Terreplenish® are corn, berries, hemp, grapes, garden vegetables and cannabis. Recently, we formed a new partnership with Easy Energy Systems (EES) and have entered into a merger agreement with a publicly traded company called DUTV. Currently, we are in the process of finalizing the merger, which is expected to be completed soon. This merger will enable us to be part of a larger initiative focused on creating plug and play farming systems close to points of need reducing fertilizer and transportation costs.

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Easy Energy Systems has created more than 30 individualized, patented technology “building block” modules that can be mixed and mingled or customized to the type of waste being converted, like Lego building blocks. Their solutions are revolutionizing as they have systems that convert burnt trees waste into water, ethanol and other decentralized recycling systems. This approach enables more individuals to access recycling systems close to points of generation, offering new opportunities.

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With this new partnership between EES and FEN, the newly designed Modular Microbe Production System (MMPS) can produce Terreplenish®.

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EasyFEN is essentially a plug and play system that can process 2 tons an hour, produce up to 500,000 gallons of Terreplenish annually, fully automated with and computer controlled remotely. These systems can be easily shipped close to points of food scrap generation to be then used in local economies.

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How much of your business on a percentage basis is indoor farming versus outdoor?

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Through a local connection in Chicago, I met master hydroponics grower Nick Greens who was setting up a program to a major company specializing in hydroponic indoor cultivation, which led to increased interest and opportunities. Many people began purchasing our product through word-of-mouth recommendations from experienced growers.

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In hydroponics, this aspect is particularly beneficial for crops that develop their true leaves like Lettuce, Spinach, Kale, Swiss Chard and Cannabis. These crops benefit from absorbing a consistent amount of nitrogen before harvest. In hydroponics, various food crops can develop true leaves. True leaves are the mature leaves of a plant that typically appear after the seed leaves, also known as cotyledons. Here are some common food crops that can be grown in hydroponics systems and develop true leaves.

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Consequently, the use of Terreplenish® helps maintain cleaner growing media for a longer period. The consortium of microbes in our product acts like little Pac-Man, consuming debris and preventing pathogen buildup, making it highly advantageous for disease control. While Terreplenish® is not a bio-fungicide/pesticide, it stops harmful spores from germinating and disrupts the cell membrane growth, inhibiting attachment of the pathogen to the leaf.

Regular Foliar-applied Terreplenish® applications have been shown to prevent soil and airborne pathogens in susceptible plant varieties with pathogens like: Powdery mildew, Fusarium wilt, Downy mold, Dollar spot and Botrytis. Whether used indoors or outdoors, our solution provides significant benefits in disease prevention.

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‍What are the biggest challenges?

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Feed Earth Now touches on two market segments in one; recycling and agriculture and there’s no easy crossover. Labeling is critical and is your entry point but there are still many barriers

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Terreplenish is OMRI listing with no restrictions, certified by USDA as a 97% biobased product, our highest credential is our organic certification with CDFA California Department of Ag.

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Without these I’d be just a city girl selling snake oil. 

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Currently our main challenge is to effectively spread the word, increase public relations (PR), Press, and overall, obtain more exposure in various aspects. While “bootstrapping” my business for more than 10 years; all my money has gone to gathering data, compliance, website while many other types of microbes have hit the market. It's really become a challenging environment, not so much that our product is not better but it's just a crowded field and you need a strong marketing presence. 

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I strongly believe that our success lies in effectively spreading the message and implementing a user-friendly and flexible system to support a circular economy.

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What is unique about Terreplenish compared to competitors?

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Our product is a consortium of naturally occurring live active beneficial microbes that are kept in a low acid pH range of 3.2-3.8b. This liquid media keeps the microbes in a dormant yet viable state, ready to unleash their transformative propagation powers when introduced into the soil or hydro systems.

Most microbe products are either not live and or contain a single strain of bacteria. Single-strain bacteria are less likely to survive in the environment, as they need other bacteria to help them thrive. Many companies sell multiple products to do what Terreplenish® does as one product.

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How do you measure the impact of your company so far? (Revenue, Employees, Customer Quantity, Production Volume) etc.?

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Several years ago, at 420 cannabis event in Colorado, we gave out 1000 8 oz travel size samples of Terreplenish®. These samples were distributed across various locations in the United States, as people from all over the world attended the event. What's fascinating is that people actively utilized the samples, leading to a significant increase in repeat online business for us.

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We have hydroponic customers throughout the United States and Canada now, and our customer base has grown naturally as a result of that event. In addition to that we are attending the Organic Produce Network (OPN) event in California next month and are actively involved in building more sustainable farming relationships with large growers like Driscoll and Dole. Any nitrogen-hungry like grapes, berries, corn, tomatoes and green vegetables will benefit greatly with regular applications of Terreplenish®.

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What have you learned since you began the company?

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Coming from a completely different background of 25 years in the Architecture and Design industry, I wouldn’t have been able to comprehend all the synchronicities that led me through this remarkable but yet surreal path to become an expert in food scrap recovery and regenerative agriculture. It was just an idea I had and I feel like I am on the other side of a steep 10-year learning curve.

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At the same time, I now understand that the world was not quite ready to let go of their chemicals or care about landfill diversion for the environment. First, I needed to be changed in order to be ready for the changes that are beginning to happen now. 

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Washington Post reported that “A third of all food in the U.S. gets wasted. Fixing that could help fight climate change”.

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Many believe that implementing regulations, like California's complete restriction on food waste and limit on agricultural chemicals in the commercial and industrial sectors and implementing regenerative agriculture practices.

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How can people connect with you or learn more about Terreplenish?

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Website: https://www.terreplenish.com

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Email: cathy@feedearthnow.com

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People can also follow us on social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter

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