What is Organic?
In 2002 we became fully organic and are certified by the Organic Farmers & Growers Association, as well as FABBL (The Little Red Tractor Scheme)
The term organic is widely used these day from your breakfast cereal, to your cup of tea. But what does it actually mean?
The organic approach to farming aims to work holistically with nature to produce food that is better for the local environment, our livestock and ultimately you as a consumer. Organic farmers and growers for-go the use of chemicals and man-made fertilizers in favour of natural manures and manual weeding and hoeing so that the chemical imprint we have on the local soil, rivers and wildlife is negligible.
Organic farming is fundamentally based on creating good soil and growing conditions for our crops, be it salads and vegetables or arable feed and grass for our cows and pigs.
To get the best from our heavy clay soil we need to balance good crop husbandry with soil science to produce plants that are strong and healthy and therefore less prone to disease and pest attack. So how do we do that?
When becoming organic you first need to go through ‘organic conversion’. This is a period of time required for all the conventional chemicals to leave the soil and for the soil to become ‘organic’. This is done by sowing red clover as this builds fertility by fixing nitrogen into the soil which naturally occurs in the atmosphere. It also encourages all of the micro-organisms and microbes to start working in harmony to produce a living soil.
After 2 years the red clover is ploughed into the soil and we can start planting our crops. For the next 3 to 4 years we manage the crops on a careful rotation to ensure that no one crop takes to much out of the soil and maintains the delicate balance of fertility. This involves planning ahead and not growing the same crop in the same field year after year which can exhaust the soil and reduce the crops ability to resist pests and disease. After 3-4 years of crops we then put the land down to clover again for a further 2 years so the soil can rest and regain its strength and the rotation cycle begins again.
Intensive crop production, although producing plentiful green growth actually stresses the crop as it often grows taller and faster and makes it more susceptible to disease and pest attack so ironically requires more chemical to be used. The apparently lush leaves contain more water which means that they don't keep so well & also have less flavour. Chemical residues are commonly found in the leaves of the food that we eat.
However, our organic salads have no chemical residues and will keep in a fridge for up to a week with no added preservatives or additives.
So eating organic is better for you as the consumer!
Conventional farming uses nitrates in the form of nitrogen spread onto the land to produce a lush high yielding crop. Such products consume a huge amount energy to produce and so by using organic methods we can help reduce energy consumption.
The applied nitrogen is easily washed out of the soil into our rivers and water-ways causing pollution as aquatic plant growth is accelerated and clogs streams and upsets nature's delicate balance. Chemicals used to get rid of 'harmful' diseases and insects are sprayed so many other organisms are killed or harmed in the process. Those that survive are often ingested by larger organisms and the chemicals become more concentrated in the predators bodies as you move up the food chain. Birds of prey, foxes and badgers ultimately are affected by pesticides and insecticides. Equally, 'useful' insects like ladybirds which can eat 'harmful' insects like greenfly are killed along with pollinating insects like bees…
So organic is better for the environment!
All our animals live as naturally as possible, spending as much time as possible outdoors in our beautiful Suffolk surroundings. The cattle enjoy a diet of organic silage in winter and organic grass in summer. We do not give our animals growth hormones or anti-biotics in their feed. The cows live outdoors for most of the year and come in during the winter to have their calves. We keep the mothers and calves together over the summer so that they are less stressed, happier animals.
We also keep 4 sows and a boar at the farm which live on our home-produced organic grain-meal and any left-overs from the vegetable patch.
They also spend their summer's outside with their piglets where they are free to wallow in mud and forage in the ground, both activities pigs love! They are also very useful at getting rid of Dock leaf plant, an organic farmers worst enemy! They search out, root up and consume the root with relish.
All our animals are regularly moved around the farm fields so they have clean surroundings and fresh food supplies. All this extra effort means we have happy healthy animals that enjoy their time on the farm.
So organic is better for our livestock too!
So that’s THREE good reasons to buy and eat organic produce......but don't just take our word for it, why not take a trip out to the farm and see the animals in their natural surroundings, meet Melba the Donkey, stroll around specially selected farm walks*.. and take home some of our Peakhill Farm organic produce!!
All our products are quality assured by the Organic Farmers and Growers Association, by whom we are certified.
