Twenty Mile South Farm, owned and operated by the City of Boise serves a dual purpose.
Alfalfa, corn, and winter wheat are grown there, but the fertilizer is used for crops.
"We take all the biosolids from both the water renewal facilities and then we truck those out to the farm where we use those as fertilizer," said Colin Hickman, communications manager, City of Boise.
All of the crops grown here are ultimately sold to local food production.
"We're in the midst of corn chopping for the season. All of our corn is chopped for silage for animal feed. Our wheat kind of interesting because it is considered a food crop so it is used here locally for food production and possibly sent overseas from a local grainery," said Ben Nydegger, biosolids program manager, City of Boise.
Separate from the biosolids program, the compost program picks up materials that Boise residents place in carts on the curb.
"One of the huge benefits of the compost program is that residents are able to compost their leaves year round."
Republic services then takes that material to the farm every week where its is treated and ground down.
It's turned into compost which takes about 90 days.
"Ensuring that by the end of the process when we get that back into the City of Boise, it's a really good rich compost that then residents can use."
