Maintaining soil fertility

• The aim of organic farming is to maintain these soil fertility levels by efficient recycling of FYM, slurry and or compost that is normally generated on the farm.
• On productive organic farms, significant quantities of milk, meat and or cereals are sold off the farm. These products contain nutrients, for instance: 1000 litres of milk or 100 kg of beef contain approximately one kg of phosphorus.

Use of fertilizers

• Use of products as supplementary nutrients are divided into three categories, permitted, restricted and prohibited.
• Permitted products: include rock phosphate, limestone, ground chalk, calcium sulphate, gypsum, basic slag, seaweed, fish meal, herbal sprays.
• Restricted products: include rock potash (subject to chlorine analysis) epsom salts, trace elements: boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc following the submission of soil, leaf or blood analysis
• Prohibited Products: include fresh blood, field use of meat, blood and bone, all other mineral fertilisers such as urea, CAN, superphosphate.

Livestock and animal husbandry

• The integration of animal husbandry in organic farms in the temperate and arid zones is one of the basic principles behind organic farming.
• Animal husbandry enables the recycling of organic matter to be further optimised in agro-eco systems, e.g. crop residues fodder for the animals animal dung for the crops.
• Planting legumes fodder crops is particular help in improving the fertility of the soil, and in diversifying the crop rotation.
• Hedges can be useful not only as windbreaks and as protection against erosion, they can also act as constant source of forage for cattle.