The organic approach is very different to that of the non-organic farmer -

Instead of routinely using chemical pesticides and drugs such as antibiotics to try and avoid disease and reach optimum productivity, the organic farmer encourages crops and animals to become healthy enough to resist disease through natural techniques and skilful animal husbandry. 

Rather than fighting nature, the organic system works with nature to create a healthy and productive farm.  ‘Organic' is a legally defined quality mark, indicating that a food that has been produced in a way which meets the standards demanded by the Advisory Committee on Organic Standards (ACOS). 

These emphasise animal welfare and care for the environment while promoting the highest standards of food quality and safety.  All organic farmers must be a member of an organic certifying body such as the Soil Association or Organic Farmers and Growers.

Environment

Organic farming practices have been shown to produce considerable environmental benefits over non-organic farming. 

English Nature (now part of Natural England), the statutory body which advises the government on nature conservation, states "organic farming can make a valuable contribution to biodiversity recovery and English Nature would like to see more farmers taking up this option and farming in an environmentally sensitive way"

In recent years there has been a dramatic decline in our farmland wildlife, from birds to wildflowers.  Almost half of the 44 species of butterflies breeding in lowland grassland are in decline and the number of farmland birds has fallen by 30% since 1970.  Wild flowers such as the cornflower that were once very common are now a rare sight.  Farming intensification, including the use of herbicides and nitrogen fertilisers, is believed to be the cause. 

Organic farming practices are generally accepted as helping to increase biodiversity.  In one study measuring levels of biodiversity on different farms, 18 of the best 20 farms were organic.  Organic farms generally have a broader range of habitats and have been found to contain five times as many wild plants and 57 more plant species than non-organic farms.

Artificial chemicals and fertilisers are avoided on organic farms as their benefit is short lived.  Instead, a sustainable system including the planting of crops such as clover is used to build a fertile soil.  Along with active habitat management, this encourages micro-organisms and earthworms that keep the soil healthy.

Animal welfare

Animal welfare is very important to organic farmers.  Organic animals are not fed and managed in ways that push them to production levels beyond their natural capacity. 

Organic farmers believe that stress imposed on animals by unnatural intensive regimes to stimulate rapid growth or high levels of milk production, can all cause the animal's health to break down.  Unlike non-organic farmers, organic farmers use homeopathic and herbal medicines successfully in the treatment of disease, only resorting to vaccines and antibiotics when the animal is actually ill and not as a matter of routine. 

Organic animals are outside as much as possible, although they are often brought inside during the winter where they are housed in covered yards or cubicles and given deep, comfortable bedding, unlike many non-organic animals. 

Comfortable, contented animals live healthier lives and are the aim of every organic farmer.

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