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While most farmers move crops to the bin and cattle to the pen, Nate Andre moves nutrients — cycling food waste back into the ground in northwest Ohio.

It started with a need for better soil chemistry. Andre Farms sits on sandy soils on the Ohio-Michigan border, where nutrient retention is a constant challenge. In the 1970s, when he began crop farming with his brother Paul, they adopted no-till to build organic matter and started sourcing manure from nearby livestock operations. 

“Everyone has sand, silt, clay — but organic matter makes it all better,” Andre said.

Manure from livestock operations, Toledo’s horse stables and waste from food manufacturers all found a home in his long rows of compost. Andre Farms LLC operates one of Ohio’s largest food waste composting systems, turning manure, yard and food scraps into nutrient-rich topsoil compost for farms within a 30-mile radius. They also custom farm and excavate land locally.

 A Farm Bureau member since 1973, Andre grew up in the organization while his mother served as a membership chair. Most recently he served as Fulton County Farm Bureau vice president and was elected to the Ohio Farm Bureau Board of Trustees in December 2025.

From compost to advocacy

His push to increase soil organic matter has attracted interest from local elected leaders, who see his commercial composting as a way to divert food waste from landfills. With wider attention, Ohio Farm Bureau served as his guide and advocate — bringing in leaders, digging into regulations and helping make his Fulton County farm a blueprint for the state.

“There is a lot of need for education of public officials and informing what can be done to keep that waste from going to the landfill,” said Roy Norman, senior organization director for Defiance, Fulton, Henry and Williams counties. “Farm Bureau has enabled Nate to be front and center of these forward ideas, not just for his operation, but for agriculture as a whole.”

Andre calls the compost homemade and renewable, and jokes that it’s “fertilizer without shipping issues.”

By hauling manure for neighbors, the brothers learned how to return reusable nutrients to cropping systems and eventually, how to teach others to do the same.“We need to remember that all this stuff really shouldn’t be called a waste. It should be called organic nutrients,” he said. 

Ohio law restricted leaves and grass clippings from being landfilled in the early 1990s, which prompted the Andre family to expand their composting work to handle yard waste. A decade later, to complete the nutrient cycle, the farm opened a Class II EPA-permitted food waste composting facility in 2012, which now handles nearly 5,300 tons of food scraps each year.

The on-farm conversations and policy meetings held on his farm often go beyond traditional agriculture audiences. Andre regularly hosts state and federal leadership, in addition to health department leaders and EPA officials.

Working closely together, Norman points to Andre Farms as an example of large-scale nutrient recycling in agriculture in one of the most critical regions, the Lake Erie watershed. While visits to the farm are often focused on his composting operation, they also highlight innovative work implemented through H2Ohio.

Future fertile ground

Composting is not just a business model for the organic community but a generational responsibility.

“We are working at making our soils better for the next generation,” Andre said.

His nephew, David Andre, has expanded the family’s mission. GoZERO, a food waste pickup and disposal company started by David, who is Paul’s son, collects all the city of Toledo’s food waste drop sites. Available to all Lucas County residents, the materials are ultimately dropped off at Andre Farms, just one county over.

Whether farmer or client, Andre said, “We can always learn from somebody else.” That belief has kept him involved in Farm Bureau leadership and connected to innovators in nutrient management.

Off the farm, Andre has leaned into growing his organic community. He is a founding member of the Ohio Organics Council and has participated in federal advocacy through the Council of Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching in Washington, D.C. The compost site has served as a research hub for Ohio State University Extension, hosting trials and on-farm experiments. In recognition of this partnership, Andre received the 2025 National Friend of Extension Award from the Extension Professionals’ Organization, Epsilon Sigma Phi.

Local leadership, backed by Farm Bureau, moves composting practices forward. At the end of the food supply chain, Andre closes the loop — returning food scraps to the same fields that feed local communities.

Key Points

• Nate Andre and his brother, Paul, started farming in the 1970s. Nate’s son, Ross, is
  the next generation to run the farm. Paul’s son, David, runs the family’s GoZERO
  recycling operation.
• Andre Farms runs one of Ohio’s largest food waste composting systems, converting manure, yard waste and food scraps into nutrient-rich compost. It is recognized as a blueprint for nutrient recycling
• Andre works to educate officials and shape composting regulations, by hosting state and federal leaders, health departments and EPA officials on his farm. He’s been a member since 1973.

What’s Next

Andre Farms has served as a research hub for Ohio State University Extension, hosting trials and on-farm experiments. In recognition of this partnership, Andre received the 2025 National Friend of Extension Award from the Extension Professionals’ Organization, Epsilon Sigma Phi.

Feature photo caption: From left: Paul, Ross and Nate Andre