Organic farming principles

The principles of organic farming

Farming organically means maximizing the inherent life and fertility of the land in a way that avoids the use of harmful and resource-wasteful chemicals.

Organic farming can be defined as an approach to agriculture where the aim is to create integrated, humane, environmental and economically sustainable agricultural production systems.

Organic farming has become known as ecological agriculture, reflecting the reliance on ecosystem management rather than external inputs. Also, poop is cheaper than fertilizer.

The term "organic" is best thought of as the concept of the farm as an organism, in which all the component parts · the soil minerals, organic matter, micro-organisms, insects, plants, animals and humans · interact to create a coherent and stable whole.

As a Soil Association Millennium Farm, we abide by the Soil Association organic standards, and are part of the Organic Farms Network. The Soil Association was founded over fifty years ago in response to the post-war adoption of chemically orientated farming. Since then, the Soil Association has campaigned for a sustainable, organic farming policy in Britain and worldwide.
The Soil Association believes that organic farming is the only way that high quality food production can go hand in hand with caring for our health, the countryside and its wildlife.

The Soil Association's Organic Symbol is a guarantee to the consumer that food is produced to the highest standards of animal welfare and environmental protection, backed by European and national law.

By being a Millennium Farm we are inviting people to visit us and enjoy our farm: see the lambing, calving, harvesting, walk the farm trail, picnic in the wild flower meadows and revel in the peace and tranquillity that is Sheepdrove Organic Farm.

Our principles are to:

• Coexist with, rather than dominate, natural systems.
• Sustain and build and protect soil fertility by maintaining organic matter levels, encouraging natural soil biological activity with careful mechanical intervention.
• Maximize recycling and minimize the use of non-renewable resources, providing crop nutrition using relatively insoluble nutrient sources made available to the plant by the action of soil micro-organisms.
• Ensure the ethical treatment of animals paying full regard to their evolutionary adaptations, behavioural needs and welfare issues including nutrition, housing, health, breeding and rearing.
• Protect and enhance the farm environment with particular regard to the conservation of its wildlife, with careful attention to the impact of the farming system on the wider environment.
• Consider the wider social and ecological impact of farming today by creating extra employment to work the farm, bringing families back into the rural communities.
• To create a legacy for the future of our children and their children, ensuring a better quality of life for all.