If you are a conventional farm owner and wish to convert for organic production, you must first realise that it takes time and effort. All the land in the farm must be rested for a period of two years before an inspector from an organic certification body tests the soil. The soil must be approved before it can be used for organic production.

The aim of organic farmers is to produce good food from a balanced living soil. They place strong emphasis on protecting the environment and following extremely tight guidelines and standards that state what can and can’t be done. In order to make the soil more fertile, farmers use crop rotations. An example of this is when a farmer grazes sheep on a field one year, making the soil more fertile, then use the field to plant wheat the next year. Although these farmers do not intend to, they can use pesticides as a last resort. By regularly moving the animals to fresh pasture, the parasite problems in farm animals are controlled. This is done alongside other preventative methods.

Below are some of the main features in organic farming.
The use of artificial chemical fertilisers and pesticides is restricted with organic farming.
Organic farmers rely on developing a healthy, fertile soil and growing a mixture of crops
Animals are reared without the routine use of drugs, antibiotics and wormers common in intensive livestock farming

Organic standards
European Law states that any food labelled organic must meet a strict set of standards. Try looking for the Soil Association symbol for your guarantee of the highest organic standards.