Pastoral organics under study

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 266, 6 December 1988, Page 9

Pastoral organics under study

The economics of organic farming is just one of the topics under scrutiny by MAFTech scientists.

Forty-four hectares of cropping land at the Flock House Agricultural Centre have been closed to conventional farming practices, and have become the base for this major investigation of pastoral organic farming. "We're approaching the study from both sides of the farm gate", said Dr Antony Roberts, MAFTech scientist co-ordinating the project. "We will be looking at the practical aspects of how to do it, as well as investigating overseas markets". Plans are for the farm to run as a mixed cropping enterprise featuring year-round land production. Lamb, beef, cereal and fodder crops will all be raised organically and there will also be a s i x hectare area specifically for research. "Organic farming is still in its infancy s o we'll be working to produce blueprints for the production of organic food. These recommendations will cover management systems, soil fertility maintenance, crop rotations, breed and strain selection and weed, pest and disease control", explained Dr Roberts. Emphasis is also being placed on exploring and developing overseas markets. "Abattoir facilities bcing built at Flock House mean the farm will be ideally located for exporting trial shipments of organic meat", he said. "We certainly won't b e promoting organic technology to farmers until we're sure that there's a market for the produce and that the concept is economically viable." Current indications are that it will be a high value overseas market as demand for organic food is expected to be 10 to 15 per cent of total consumption in Western Europe, the United Kingdom and United

States of America by 1995. Day to day running of the farm is the responsibility of Mr John Ransom who is based at Flock House. He will be working closely with southern North Island MAFTech scientists, as well as MAFTech scientists and consultants from Lincoln who have expertise particularly in the biological control of insects. Inputs from this multidisciplinary team will be essential to the development of such a revolutionary way of farming. The farm will be managed according to standards set down by the Biological Producers' Council, which means that it will be two years before any produce can be certified as fully organic. In selecting the location for the farm, care was taken to ensure that the land was free from any pesticide or heavy metal residues.