- "Organic farming, also known as ecological farming or biological farming, is an agricultural system that uses fertilizers of organic origin such as compost manure, green manure, and bone meal and places emphasis on techniques such as crop rotation and companion planting."
Organic farming is based on the use of natural inputs, such as compost, manure, and crop rotation to ensure soil health and productivity.
What is Organic Agriculture: Understand the principles and definitions of organic agriculture, including its distinct characteristics and importance in modern agriculture and the environment.
Organic Soil Management: Learn about soil biology, soil structure, and organic fertilization practices to enhance soil health, nutrient content, and overall crop yield.
Crop Rotation: Understand the benefits of crop rotation, soil-building green manures, and companion planting that can provide natural pest control for organic farms.
Organic Pest and Disease Management: Explore alternatives to synthetic pesticides and techniques such as crop rotation, use of beneficial insects, natural pest repellents, and crop diversity.
Organic Livestock and Poultry Management: Understand the requirements and standards for raising organic livestock and poultry, including feed, living conditions, and medicating practices.
Organic Certification: Explore the process and requirements of organic certification standards, which ensure that organic farmers and producers meet national and international organic standards.
Organic Production and Marketing: Learn about organic market trends, labeling requirements, and certification standards that can help with branding and selling organic products to consumers.
Organic Standards and Regulations: Understand the regulatory landscape for organic agriculture, including the laws, regulations, and programs that govern organic production, labeling, and trade.
Organic Seed Production and Storage: Learn about seed biology, seed selection, and storage practices for organic farms, as well as seed production techniques, such as hybridization and genetic modification.
Organic Composting and Waste Management: Explore organic waste management practices, including composting, vermiculture, and soil amendment strategies that can conserve resources and reduce pollution.
- "It originated early in the 20th century in reaction to rapidly changing farming practices."
- "Certified organic agriculture accounts for 70 million hectares (170 million acres) globally."
- "Over half of that total [70 million hectares] is in Australia."
- "Biological pest control, mixed cropping, and the fostering of insect predators are encouraged."
- "Organic standards are designed to allow the use of naturally-occurring substances while prohibiting or strictly limiting synthetic substances."
- "For instance, naturally-occurring pesticides such as pyrethrin are permitted."
- "Synthetic substances that are allowed include, for example, copper sulfate, elemental sulfur, and ivermectin."
- "Genetically modified organisms, nanomaterials, human sewage sludge, plant growth regulators, hormones, and antibiotic use in livestock husbandry are prohibited."
- "Organic farming advocates claim advantages in sustainability, openness, self-sufficiency, autonomy and independence, health, food security, and food safety."
- "Organic agricultural methods are internationally regulated and legally enforced by transnational organizations and many nations, based in large part on the standards set by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)."
- "reaching $63 billion worldwide in 2012."
- "As of 2020, approximately 75,000,000 hectares (190,000,000 acres) worldwide were farmed organically."
- "Organic farming can be beneficial on biodiversity and environmental protection at the local level."
- "Because organic farming has sometimes lower yields compared to intensive farming, additional agricultural land is needed elsewhere in the world, which means that natural and forest land has to be converted into agricultural land."
- "This can cause loss of biodiversity and negative climate effects that sometimes outweigh the local environmental gains achieved."
- "This lower yield does not include dry lands."
- "Food waste of industrial agriculture must be taken into account."
- "Organic agriculture can be defined as 'an integrated farming system that strives for sustainability, the enhancement of soil fertility and biological diversity while, with rare exceptions, prohibiting synthetic pesticides, antibiotics, synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, and growth hormones'."
- "Organically managed farmland that grew from 2001 to 2011 at a compounding rate of 8.9% per year."