THE DECISION TO BECOME AN ORGANIC FARM

The decision to take the plunge and put the farm into Organic conversion was actually quite easy. We thought long and hard for several months about the future of the farm . It was obvious that major changes had to be made since the future of small family farms was becoming more and more uncertain. We were also becoming concerned about some modern farming practices and their effect upon human health and the environment.

At the same time, there began to be a marked increase in the demand for Organic produce. Having visited several established farms in various parts of the country, read as much information as we could, and taken advantage one and a half days of free advice from experts at Elm Farm Research Centre, there really was no other decision to be made. It had become obvious to us that the Organic option was the only way forward. We registered with the Soil Association and our two year conversion began on 1st May 1998. We became fully Organic in 2000.

THE CONVERSION PROCESS

The main reason for the conversion period is to halt the application of any chemicals (herbicides, pesticides and non organically produced fertilizers) and to allow time for any residues of such products to leave the soil. We spent time over those 2 years trying to establish an abundance of clover into our grassland. As with other legumes, clover has the ability to stabilize nitrogen from the atmosphere, which helps to increase fertility in the soil and to enhance grass growth.

We have also had a change of attitude towards farmyard manure. Although always thought of as a useful product for increasing fertility, sometimes in the past it was also considered to be a bit of a white elephant. Now it is like gold dust to us, and we have large heaps of it in varying stages of composting waiting to give life back to the land. Most of our fields are now in good shape, although there are one or two hungry looking patches in some fields. However, as the natural fertility is gradually built up, these should begin to disappear.

We began to implicate the veterinary and animal welfare standards in August. The main change was the withdrawal of the use of antibiotics in the dairy herd. We have managed to dry most of the cows off gradually, bringing one or two back into the parlour to be stripped out if their udders became hard, and any cases of mastitis have been cleared up by using a natural tee tree oil based preparation.

The conversion period passed by fairly smoothly. There were hard times during the last winter as the initial reduced production period coincided with the worst time farming has had since the 1930s. Yet we never doubted that we had made the correct decision. We now look towards the future, and the ever increasing public demand for Organic produce can only be good news for us. Best of all though, we will be doing what we enjoy in a way which we know is best for our planet and which makes us feel satisfied that we have done our best.

SUSTAINABLE FARMING AT SHORTWOOD

Our aim at Shortwood is to make the farm as self sufficient as possible. We grow feed in the form of grass, cereals and root crops which we feed to our animals. The manure from the animals is then spread on the land increasing its fertility, improving its structure, and thus benefiting the subsequent crops.

By rotating the siting of the poultry houses we help to increase the richness of the soil (poultry manure is rich in nutrients), to prevent the build up of pests and diseases and to sustain the natural nitrogen cycle.

We sell our meat and eggs directly from the farm as well as at local farmers markets. This helps to ensure that our customers get fresh, local produce which has not added unnecessarily polluted the atmosphere by being transported around the country.