Vol. XIX No. 6
November /December 2025
Serving Soil, Mulch, Compost & Firewood Producers www.SoilandMulchProducerNews.com
NEWS
Attention Readers !
Are you looking for Products, Equipment or Services for your business? If so, check out these leading companies advertised inside:
Automatic Floor Systems Keith Manufacturing Co – pg 20 Bagging/Palletizing Equipment Amadas Industries – pg 12 Premier Tech – pg 22 Compost Turner Resource Machinery & Engineering – pg 14 Cone screw splitters U.S. Pride Products – pg 12 Conveyors & Conveyor Parts Amadas Industries – pg 12 Smalis Conveyors – pg 8 Equipment Sales GrinderTrader.com – pg 3 Grinders, Chippers & Screening Systems Amadas Industries – pg 12 Bandit – pg 19 HogZilla – pg 4 Maverick Environmental Equipment – pg 14 Precision Husky – pg 11 Rawlings Manufacturing – pg 9 Mulch Coloring Equipment/ Colorants AgriCoatings – pg 17 Amerimulch – pg 15 Britton Industries – pg 18 CMC – pg 7 Colorbiotics – pg 2 Faltech – pg 9 Florida Coastal Colors – pg 5 Milagro Rubber Inc – pg 21 T.H. Glennon Co – pg 24 Timber Ridge Equipment – pg 10 Mulch & peat Suppliers Lambert Peat – pg 3 Ohio Mulch – pg 16 Payload Weighing & Measuring Systems Walz Scale – pg 13 Soil Amendment Green Solutions LLC – pg 4 Trailers Weaver Systems – pg 6 Trommel Brushes Power Brushes Inc – pg 3 Wear Parts ArmorHog – pg 6
MSC Plans Spring Roll-Out Of All-Natural Mulch Program
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By P.J. Heller
ardeners who have been wanting a truly all-natural mulch for their yards and gardens are expected to get their wish this spring when the Mulch and Soil Council (MSC) rolls out its certified all-natural product program for horticultural mulches. The certified all-natural product program – which is planned to eventually include soils – is an outgrowth of the MSC’s product certification program, launched in 2003 to help consumers, retailers, regulators and others identify products that conform to the Uniform Voluntary Product Guidelines (UVPG). The UVPG addresses product nomenclature, labelling, performance, and truth-in-advertising. While many MSC certified products are natural, the UVPG does not require all-natural content. “I think this will be a new phase for the lawn and garden market,” predicts Robert C. LaGasse, executive director of the council. “It’s the first national certification initiative designed to clearly identify mulch products that meet the highest standards for natural integrity.”
Rather than relying on claims from manufacturers that a product is natural or showing the results from various disparate testing labs, the new MSC certification program will bring all mulch producers who apply under a single independent testing body. Jim Weber, who serves on the certification committee and is president of the MSC, says the program will provide consumers with the assurance that mulches designated as certified all-natural all meet the same demanding standards. “I think it will be a great success,” Weber says, “I think it will help consumers on which direction to go.” An annual consumer survey conducted by MSC in June showed nearly half of the 1,421 respondents said they preferred a product identified as all-natural and organic. “There are some things that are organic that aren’t natural,” LaGasse notes. “So we went the all-natural route . . . We’re hoping this program will give consumers a more self‑explanatory, easily recognized indication of what they’re purchasing. Continued on page 3