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Well, I’ve done it! Organic conversion plan has been completed and submitted, and acknowledged but no more. I assume that we will be inspected at some stage and be put thoroughly on the right track.
So just how does the livestock farmer convert to organic status? The process can be split into two parts: conversion of the land and conversion of livestock management.
Conversion of the land takes two years. Conventional farming use fertilisers aimed at maximising grass production and sprays to control excessive weed problems. Once the conversion process has been started none of this is allowed. In order to maintain production levels the organic farmer has to look after his soil. The condition of the soil is assessed for plant nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium and for minerals such as magnesium and calcium. This is done by the means of taking soil samples from each field. Should there be serious deficiencies then there are a range of soil “conditioners” that are approved for use on organic farms. The soil structure is also looked at. This influences the availability of nutrients and minerals to the grass. Ways that this can influenced includes improving drainage, re-seeding or oversowing with deep rooting grasses, or actively breaking up any “pans” –compacted layers-that exist within the soil. The types of grasses are also looked at; clover is very useful for fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere and so making it available to other plants. Weed control can be carried out mechanically; we have a tool, which makes pulling weeds out by hand really easy. Other methods include topping – cutting the field in such a way that the grass etc is left about 4” high- the fields before the weeds have gone to seed. This prevents the spreading of weeds and, over time, will weaken the plant.
Livestock management, under conventional farming systems, tends to be a bit blunt, mainly due to the numbers kept. Many farmers routinely use vaccinations, antibiotics and anthelmintics -drugs for parasite control. Also certain practises such as heavy fertiliser applications cause health problems by tying up trace elements and minerals so that they are not available to the animals via the grasses. Large numbers of animals housed continuously over the winter in poorly ventilated buildings are prone to all sorts of problems such as pneumonia. In the conversion plan the organic certifying bodies would want to see a reduction and eventually a removal of routine use of allopathic medicines. Alternative management tactics such as reducing stock numbers –the worse enemy of a sheep is another sheep-, keeping the hardier breeds of cattle and sheep, and clean grazing systems to remove internal parasites from the ground – sheep worms do not like being eaten by cattle and vice versa- are encouraged in the organic sector. Obviously homeopathy and herbal medicines can play their part in maintaining animal health. Where absolutely necessary allopathic medicines can be used on organic stock but if the animal receives several such treatments during its life then it will loose its organic status. With regard to feed the animals should receive the bulk of their food as grass in some form or other. We are allowed to feed a small percentage of non-organic feed at the moment; this will change in 2005 to nil. However this feed must be certified free of GM products. There are also requirements to be met regarding the housing of animals over the winter with a minimum area per beast being defined according to size. Abattoirs also must be certified before they can handle organic stock.
Hopefully this has given you some idea as to what is involved. Next time I will describe how we are going to proceed with our conversion.