Conservation

What is Organic farming?

• The  Organic Farmers & Growers (OF&G) website describes in detail the legislation that governs organic farming (you cannot sell food as ‘organic’ unless it has been certified as being manufactures under these strict rules).
•  A definition has been given by the European Commission and is summarized as:

‘ Organic farming differs from other farming systems in a number of ways.

• It favours renewable resources and recycling, returning to the soil the nutrients found in waste products.
• Where livestock is concerned, meat and poultry production is regulated with particular concern for animal welfare and by using natural foodstuffs.
• Organic farming respects the environment's own systems for controlling pests and disease in raising crops and livestock and avoids the use of:
• synthetic pesticides and herbicides
• chemical fertilisers
• growth hormones
• antibiotics
• gene manipulation
• Instead, organic farmers use a range of techniques that help sustain ecosystems and reduce pollution.