What is and what is organic farming?
Organic farming is an alternative method to conventional farming breeding and cultivation, based on natural means and environmentally friendly methods. environmentally friendly. This is how to define in a nutshell what it is eco-agriculture. In brief, because organic production is a much broader concept, referring not only to agrotechnology or regulations legislation. Read our article to find out what it is about organic food production and what are the advantages of growing organic.
What is organic farming?
One could say that organic farming is simply the use of natural means to produce organic food, but this definition does not exhaust the subject. Organic farming, by relying on natural processes should primarily support biodiversity biodiversity and also obtain agricultural crops in an environmentally friendly way, by achieving sustainable crop and animal production.
Organic farming – advantages and disadvantages.
The main advantage of organic farming is first and foremost… naturalness. In organic farming, both crops and farming are diversified in terms of species, which makes it possible to achieve a closed cycle of organic matter (organic farming excludes monocultures). As a result, an organic farm is self-sufficient, and its ecosystem does not affect the the process of degradation of agricultural areas. In addition, the lack of chemicals in fertilizers increases the quality of crops.
In addition, organic crops also bring greater financial returns – both in terms of human labor (thanks to less automation in production, more people have jobs), as well as products (higher quality produce means also better wages).
As for the disadvantages of organic farming, statistics state that. producing the same amount of crops using natural methods requires a much greater use of land than in conventional agriculture. conventional farming. Some sources also indicate that organic farming in significantly pollutes groundwater with nitrogen compounds in comparison with conventional agriculture.
Fertilization in organic agriculture
In organic farming, proper fertilization plays an important role. If we want , to make our crops organic, it is necessary to ensure that such basic fertilizers such as manure, slurry and compost contain as many minerals as possible and are fertile enough. To achieve this, it is worth reaching for preparations, that support natural metabolic processes. An example of such a product is a biopreparation designed to treat manure of natural origin animal origin – Agro SanitoBac Starter.
In addition to natural fertilizers produced on the farm, in organic farming organic farming, so-called supplemental fertilizers are also used. These are fertilizers mineral fertilizers (basalt, gypsum, wood ash or fertilizer chalk), fertilizers organic (egg shells, sawdust or wood bark) and silt and sludge from natural water bodies.
It is also worth making full use of minerals and compounds found in soil, Such as phosphorus, for example. For this purpose, you can use the bacterial biopreparation BactoFos, which naturally increases the concentration of phosphate, and thus positively affects plant growth.
Another good way to increase humus content, is to accelerating the decomposition of crop residues or other organic matter, thus preserving more nutrients. This is possible, among other things. thanks to the introduction into the soil of bacteria that promote the decomposition of plant residues plant and animal residues (e.g. BactoRol Plus).
Organic farming – breeding and cultivation of
Organic animal husbandry
Animal nutrition in eco-agriculture is based on the use of feeds produced on our own farm, because only then we are sure what its composition and properties are. When selecting animals, it is important to pay attention to those that provide a satisfactory level of production. Also important factors are good health, gentleness or the manner of use of farm feed.
The origin of the animals is also important – apart from exceptions, such as animals intended for fattening or laying, should come from farms certified by the EKOLAND Association. We should also remember appropriate conditions, organic nutrition and constant health monitoring (important: organic farming excludes feeding animals with hormones or antibiotics).
Organic plant cultivation
One of the key elements of organic farming is crop rotation. It is is a system involving alternate planting of crops, which allows to maintain the optimal humus level, avoids disease and fights weeds. Such treatment also improves the quality of later crops and protects the soil from erosion and disease-causing pests.
In addition, vegetation in organic farming is grown on small plots in a mosaic system, fenced off by natural covers of trees, which at the same time provide shelter for wild animals and insects. In addition to In addition, when growing plants organically, it is important to remember proper watering, fertilization, warmth or placement.
Tools for organic farming
When growing crops organically, it is worth remembering appropriate agricultural machinery. Energy-intensive and low-performance tools should be replaced with organic machines, such as plowing with a plow or cultivator plowing machine. It's also worth getting multitool sets, which help perform several operations in a single pass.
Organic farming – legal regulations
Organic farming also involves complying with relevant legal acts. Among them is, among others, the Law of June 25, 2009 on organic farming or the Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. dated September 4 2017. All laws are available on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development – it's worth browsing to stay up to date with eco laws.