Today we’d like to introduce you to John Ferguson.
Hi John, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Nature’s Way Resources (NWR) evolved out of a series of events that John Ferguson experienced, some of which were life changing. Over 30 years ago, he experienced an allergic reaction to a common fungicide that almost cost him his life and took six months to recover.
As a result, he started intensively studying the new research that was emerging on biological methods in horticulture and agriculture. Researchers have found that these methods work better and at lower cost than traditional methods. Many of these new methods require large amounts of organic materials processed into compost, mulch and related products.
John left the oil industry in March of 1993 with the plan to start a landscape company that provided low maintenance and environmentally friendly landscapes using the newer methods. This type of landscaping requires lots of organic materials, so he visited all the suppliers in Houston. He could not find a single supplier of high quality soils or mulches and no one had compost of any quality. This led John to find out what it would take to produce a few thousand cubic yards of compost annually for use in his landscape company.
He spent the next few months doing intensive research into large scale composting. It was not long before he realized that this was an emerging new industry with lots of research on the benefits of compost occurring around the world. As a result of his findings, which indicated the growth and benefits to society of a composting company, the idea of a landscaping company was immediately dropped. Since John had a strong background in soil science, during the next 18 months, John studied everything he could find on compost technology, attended national and regional conferences on composting, and visited commercial and public operations all over the United States and internationally. The visits included operations that were having problems as well as those that were very successful.
To test John’s ideas, a 20 acre tract of land was leased on the Sam Houston Tollway on the west side of Houston and operations commenced in November of 1994. The original business plan projected that 2,000 cy (cubic yards) of material would be received each month after an initial 12 month start-up phase. The company started receiving “tipping” (dump fee) revenue at its Houston facility in mid-November of 1994. By August of 1995 the volume of raw material received had increased to 12,000 cy per month. In 1995 revenues greatly increased which allowed for the purchase of the needed equipment which was very expensive. This convincingly confirmed John’s idea of the great need for this service in the Houston area.
As a result of the much larger than anticipated success, the type, size and amount of the required equipment had to be revised. At the same time, Waste Management of Texas (WMI) approached NWR about operating a small facility in Montgomery County to allow the recycling of grass and leaves from The Woodlands community. In December of 1995 a second location was established on FM 1488 just north of the Woodlands to collect and process grass and leaves. This site was an abandoned illegal dump site for woody waste from land clearing materials, hence a favorable lease was obtained to clean up the site and process the material. Also, the City of Oakridge established a recycling program for grass and leaves and contracted with NWR to recycle their green waste material in addition to the Woodlands.
In the summer of 1998, a developer made NWR an attractive offer to buy the Houston property. The sale of the land allowed NWR to purchase the additional equipment that was required to be a fully equipped composting facility. As a result of the sale of the Houston property, in December 1998 the operation was relocated to the small four acre collection site in Montgomery County to start over. The majority of 1999 was spent in site preparation, finding new sources of feedstocks, redeveloping inventory, etc. This relocation allowed John to continue to develop and enhance processing and operational techniques to improve the quality of the products.
NWR was quickly recognized as the leader in the Houston area for high quality compost, mulches, soils and potting mixes. NWR has been recognized in many publications from The Houston Chronicle to The Wall Street Journal for the quality of its products. John’s personal yard and garden has been featured in several garden books and in Better Homes and Gardens.
Over time an assortment of sands, decorative gravels and rocks were added to the product line to provide for the needs of our customers. Additionally, NWR now carries several lines of organic fertilizers, trace mineral packages, and other organic supplies.
In January of 2004, the business was relocated to a 42 acre tract of land near the previous location across I-45, at 101 Sherbrook Circle. To allow NWR to continue to grow and provide for our customers, NWR added a bagging system and now has all of its products available in bags as well as in bulk. Bagged products are available at several retailers around town that specialize in organic products and customer service.
In 2006, Natures Way Resources won the Houston Chronicle Ultimate award for the finest and best quality Compost in our area.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When I started, banks would not loan money to purchase equipment for organic recycling. I am not going to loan money for that! Burn it or put it in a landfill.
Many generators of organic waste (tree trimmers, landscapes, lawn maintenance, etc.) were afraid to use recycling services instead of a landfill.
There was zero political support and still not very much in our area.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Mr. Ferguson has over 40 years of business experience. He founded and owns Natural Waste Solutions, Inc., dba Nature’s Way Resources, a Houston based composting, mulch and recycling company that specialize in high quality compost, mulch, and soil mixes. He holds an MS degree in Physics and Geology and is a licensed Soil Scientist in Texas. He has won many awards in horticulture and environmental issues. He represents the composting/recycling industry on the Houston-Galveston Area Council for solid waste for over 25 years. His personal garden has been featured in several gardening books, “Better Homes and Gardens” magazine and his business has been recognized in the Wall Street Journal for the quality and value of the products. His company won the Houston Chronicle’s Ultimate Award for the finest quality compost in the Houston region and he won a Keep Houston Beautiful – Mayors Proud Partner Award for Environmental Education.
He is a member of the Physics Honor Society and many professional societies. There are many papers that he has written on the company website www.natureswayresources.com. He is co-author of the book “Organics Management for Professionals” on modern sustainable methods in horticulture, agriculture, landscaping, and turf management by University Of Texas Press. He is also a regular contributor to the gardening e-newsletter “Lazy Gardener and Friends”.
Education: Stephen F. Austin State University, M.S., December 1982 (Major: Physics Minor: Geology)
Stephen F. Austin State University, B.S., December 1976 (Major 1: Physics, Major 2: Mathematics, Minor: Geology)
Texas Geoscientist License (Soil Science), PG License # 395
Honors: Sigma Pi Sigma (Physics Honor Society), American Institute of Physics, Sarah H. Emmott Environmental Education Award 1998 and several others.
Professional Affiliations: American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, Crop Science Society of America, Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists, American Society for Horticultural Science, Houston Galveston Area Council of Governments (HGAC) for Solid Waste Management (Industry Representative), Organic Horticulture Benefits Alliance (OHBA), Garden Writers Association of America.
Honorary Affiliations (Past and Present): American Horticultural Society, Native Plant Society of Texas, Useful Wild Plants of Texas, National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, Houston Rose Society, Urban Harvest – Community Gardening and Organic Education, Texas Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association, Union of Concerned Scientists, USGBC- Houston Chapter, Mercer Society Advisory Board at Mercer Arboretum, South Central Texas Prescribed Burn Association and several others.
We are known for our high quality compost, soils and mulches, and our organic retail nursery.
What were you like growing up?
Loved the outdoors, camping, fishing, canoeing. I was very shy. Loved all aspects of science.
Contact Info:
- Email: csdept@natureswayresources.com
- Website: www.natureswayresources.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NaturesWayResources
- Youtube: sveral vidoes about us on utube
