WHY GO ORGANIC ?

WHY DID YOU GO ORGANIC......?
MY DAD HAD A HEART ATTACK AT 49 ON OUR FARM, WHEN I WAS 9, & MY MUM AND US 5 KIDS CONTINUED RUNNING THE CONVENTIONAL SHEEP & CATTLE FARM. MUM DEVELOPED AN INTEREST IN ORGANIC GARDENING & USING COMPOST. HER PARENTS WERE FARMERS & MY DAD'S WERE BOTH DOCTORS IN WINTON. WHEN I WAS 20 I WENT ON MY BIG OE;
I DROVE A TRACTOR PLOUGHING & SEEDING 6000 ACRES IN WEST AUSTRALIA IN 12 HOUR SHIFTS, WHERE FERTILISER WAS POURED ON TO PRODUCE VERY LITTLE CROP AND THEN LATER ENVIROMENTAL PROBLEMS. THIS WAS A BIG CONTRAST TO THE LOW INPUT, SUSTAINABLE, TASTY & PRODUCTIVE ORGANIC FARMING SYSTEMS USED FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS I SAW AT 21 (IN 1979) WHILE TRAVELLING OVERLAND FOR 6 MONTHS FROM INDONESIA THROUGH ASIA, THE MIDDLE EAST (INCLUDING INDIA, NEPAL, RUSSIA BOMBING AFGHANISTAN, IRAN HAD JUST THROWN OUT THE SHAH, SYRIA, JORDAN, ISRAEL, TURKEY) TO EUROPE. ARRIVED IN LONDON, WHERE THERE WAS A FUEL CRISIS. I THINK THIS ALL HAD AN EARLY INFLUENCE, ON DECIDING TO CONVERT TO ORGANIC FARMING. SINCE THEN I'VE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN LOW INPUT, SELF SUFFICIENT, SUSTAINABLE, ENERGY EFFICIENT ORGANIC METHODS OF FARMING.
I returned home, after working in the UK & in 1980 began breeding hardy performance recorded romney rams & started farming conventionally on own account. the bank expected that because I had a large mortgage on our 5000 stock unit hill country Sheep & Cattle farm. In 1985 I travelled through China, Trans-siberian across Russia.
In Europe Helen & i saw organic farming/market was developing.
By 1986-87 we became dissolutioned with Conventional farming.
"There always seems to be another drench, dip or something else to poke into your sheep or cattle or chemical for the farm. Helen & I wondered if all that was really necessary, as the stock survived well before all that stuff was invented, maybe organic farming would suit us better."
-- So we started to convert our 5000 stock unit hill country Sheep & Cattle farm to organics.....................
Going Organic requires thinking, planning, & determination.
The change takes time both psychologically for the farmers & physically for the farm.
It takes at least 3 years, but often 7 years is best.

~ first stopped using superphosphate, Nitrogen or any other artificial fertiliser, & Substituted with ROCK PHOSPHATE (RPR) & LIME

~then gave up dipping and changed to 6 monthly shearing for lice control & stud breeding for immunity.

~Gave up vaccinating & Scabine, Kept a note book of any dirty paddocks where diseases were seen & sabbatically fallowed them to clear them of the disease, especially useful where there is blood poisoning or tetanus. Also stud breeding for immunity to diseases.

~Reduced our sheep stock numbers & started increasing cattle numbers to give a better balanced sheep/Cattle ratio.

~Gave up chemical drenches & substituted with garlic/onions vinegar type drench but this didn't achieve anything in the long run so decided to hang up the drench gun for good & selected stud sheep and cattle for performance, vitality and natural immunity to Disease & parasites (worms and lice). This is the only true sustainable method of control.

~We organised a stock monitoring programme with the help of Otautau Veterinarian & critic John Hicks, for a couple of years which showed the yearly parasite patterns for lice and worms.

Our farm received full BIO-GRO Organic Certification in March 1989.

email tim@organicstud.co.nz

phone 03 2255283

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