THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

PAGE 3

Purple Cow Organics strives to stand out

by MATT GEIGER
Times-Tribune

One day in France, some cows grazed lazily, swatting flies with their tails, lowing softly and chewing cud, as bovines are wont to do. Little did they know they would one day be responsible for diverting tons and tons of the Middleton areas waste away from landfills. But when asked to explain Purple Cow Organics, a local company that specializes in high quality compost products, Ryan Hartberg, the companys director of operations, says it all goes back to those cows. They inspired writer Seth Godin to create the purple cow principle. While driving through France, Godin, who was probably not from Wisconsin, said he was enchanted by the hundreds of storybook cows grazing in lovely pastures right next to the road. For dozens of kilometers, we all gazed out the window, marveling at the beauty, he wrote. Then, within a few minutes, we started ignoring the cows. The new cows were just like the old cows, and what was once amazing was now common. Worse than common: It was boring. Goden reasoned that no matter how good the cows were at their jobs, they just didnt stand out. A Purple Cow, though: Now, that would really stand out, he continued. The essence of the Purple Cow - the reason it would shine among a crowd of perfectly competent, even undeniably excellent cows - is that it would be remarkable. Something remarkable is worth talking about, worth paying attention to. The ownership group behind Purple Cow Organics embraced that philosophy. The team includes some names familiar to those who follow commerce and economic development in the Good Neighbor City: Jeanne Whitish, James (Sandy) Syburg, Leland (Lee) Bruce, Steve Stumbras and Lisa Sherrard. They made the idea of remarkableness the cornerstone on which their compost venture was built. Hartberg estimates the young company diverted approximately 15,775

tons of yard residuals from the landfill in 2012. Roughly 7,500 tons of wood were also diverted, along with 7,115 tons of shingles alone. (Somewhat ironically, while the companys logo is a purple cow, its products dont contain cow manure.) Purple Cow hopes to double sales in 2013. Part of that goal includes new bagged products: Purple Cow Tomato Gro and Purple Cow Potting Mix.

The part of
the compost you see is just a vehicle...
Ryan Hartberg Purple Cow Organics

Hartberg said Purple Cow, which was initially a product made by Bruces Second Season Recycling, has been marketed primarily by those who use it. Marketing has changed, he said. Nowadays its about having a product people like. If people like it, they have the ability to market it for you in a very real, very rapid way. Making compost doesnt have to be rocket science after all, many homeowners do it in their backyards - but Hartberg said the team at Purple Cow has come up with an unusually precise method. In the traditional sense [making compost] is simply taking materials grass, leaves, small woody things, maybe some paper or cardboard, which used to be wood after all and leaving them in a pile for 18 months, he said. While it sits there, microorganisms living within it are breaking down those ingredients. Those piles need to be turned in order to provide air and water for the microbes, whose activity is what heats the piles. But at Purple Cow Organics they believe, as Hartberg puts it, not all com-

post is created equal. You can ask what you want your compost to do, he explained. Your answer will change how its made. Is its purpose aesthetic, like mulch? Is it to improve the soil? Is it specifically to improve your plants food, which in turn improves your food? We feel strongly that there is a greater cause at work here, he continued. Thats what makes coming to work every day enjoyable. Im not saying composting this way is the only way, but its a way, and its our way. Hartberg said at Purple Cow, specific mixture ratios are closely monitored, the product is meticulously grinded and screened, and rows are turned like clockwork. Different products do different things. The original Purple Cow is the first version, a finer line is just that almost the consistency of coffee grounds, and an activated compost is biologically busier. The part of compost that you see is just a vehicle, Hartberg said. Its a method of delivering all that biology into the soil. Its the microorganisms that allow the plants to eat. Purple Cow Organics obtains most of its raw materials through municipal contracts. While much of that waste would otherwise end up in landfills, its not exclusively out of a sense of ecological altruism that cities and villages bring their waste to Purple Cow. Its actually cheaper than paying landfill tipping fees. Were the financially preferred method, Hartberg explained. Buyers range from relatively largescale organic farmers to urban gardeners who pick up their bags of Purple Cow at co-operatives and garden centers. The large-scale producers tend to use Purple Cow on higher value crops: Increasing a yield of tomatoes or ginseng by a few pounds can mean significantly more revenue for a farmer. We dont currently sell anything through big boxes, Hartberg added. We like the local stores and the people, and were not trying to compete with cheap compost.

Times-Tribune photo by Matt Geiger

Ryan Hartberg displays Purple Cows new Tomato Gro product.

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