Good for nature, good for you
Food scares, environmental responsibility, caring for animals and healthy living trends all spur the popularity of food produced by organic farming.
This form of agriculture relies on crop rotation, green manure, compost, biological pest control, and mechanical cultivation to maintain soil productivity and control pests. Organic farming excludes or strictly limits the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, plant growth regulators, livestock feed additives and genetically modified organisms.
The main reasons why farmers choose to be organic are concerns for environment and animal welfare. Concerns for the environment include, for instance, soil quality, biodiversity and biological cycles. By providing decent housing, good hygiene, exercise, appropriate livestock density and free-range access to pastures, the focus is on animal welfare. The natural immunological defenses are stimulated by supplying high quality, healthy and adequate feed.
According to the European Union the following principles are typical of organic farming:
- Wide crop rotation as a prerequisite for an efficient use of on-site resources
- Very strict limits on chemical synthetic pesticide and synthetic fertilizer use, livestock antibiotics, food additives and processing aids and other inputs
- Absolute ban on the use of genetically modified organisms
- Taking advantage of on-site resources, such as livestock manure for fertilizer or feed produced on the farm
- Choosing plant and animal species that are resistant to disease and adapted to local conditions
- Raising livestock in free-range, open-air systems and providing them with organic feed
- Using animal husbandry practices appropriate to different livestock species
Feed requirements for organic livestock
One big difference compared to conventional farming systems is the use of antibiotics in animal feed, or of certain chemicals, which are permitted for crop growth for instance. These chemicals are produced in processes that require a lot of energy (fossil fuels). So organic farming involves much more than opting not to use compounds that are not permitted by organic standards.
Besides principles for crops, GMO’s and animal husbandry there are also principles applying to the feed of organic livestock. At this moment regulations state that 85% of the feed given to organic livestock should be produced organically. As from January 1, 2008 farmers should provide 100% organic feed except for dairy and beef cattle. The feed in general should contribute to the health and wellbeing of all animals kept in an organic system. To comply with the principles of organic farming the feed also needs to be from organically grown crops.
Organic acids and organic farming
In conventional systems all types of products stated in the Community Register of Feed Additives (EC No 1831/2003) are allowed for use in the animal feed industry. This means formic acid, sodium formate, ammonium propionate, BHT etc. Only a few of these are allowed in organic farming, namely:
- sorbic acid
- formic acid
- acetic acid
- lactic acid
- propionic acid
- and citric acid (as preserving agents)
Lactic, formic, propionic and acetic acid can only be used in silage when the weather conditions hinder the occurrence of natural correct fermentation. No salts of acids are allowed as preserving agents. Furthermore, only tocopherol rich extracts of natural origin can be used to preserve the fats and premixes. For ensiling purposes enzymes, yeast and bacteria are only allowed when those specific products are stated in the Community Register of Feed Additives.
Perstorp has developed products that apply the principles of organic farming. The main ingredient is formic acid, which is found naturally in red ants and in nettles. For instance, within the ProMyr® range we have ProMyr® XR 630, which has been specially developed for organic systems. In organic forage cultivation it is often difficult to achieve a rapid reduction in pH levels due to the high proportion of clover. The absence of nitrate in grass can also impair the preservation protection.
Consistently growing interest
The organic product market has seen rapid growth since 1990, averaging 20-25 percent a year and reached USD 33 billion in 2005. In Europe the number of hectares used for the cultivation of organic crops has grown significantly (+97%) since 2000 (Fig 1.) The amount of hectares in transition remained about the same during this period. The transition period is 3-5 years in which the farmer increasingly moves over to the organic system.
Looking at the number of organic livestock you can see major growth (Table 1.): the number of ruminants grew compared with 2000. Ruminants play a natural role in organic crop rotation, therefore a lot of growth is achieved in ruminant production.
Other facts and figures
- The organic area of the total agricultural area used is around 4% across Europe
- The average size of organic agricultural holdings is in general higher than the average size of all holdings
- Italy accounts for nearly 18% of the total organic area of Europe. The Czech Republic has the highest percentage among countries that joined the EU in 2004
- Austria has the highest share of organic area over the total agricultural area used (2005)
(Eurostat, 2007)
Looking to the future it seems that organic farming will successively grow. Over the years the total area farmed organically has been expanding and its growth rate will continue to increase in the future. The same applies to the number of organic livestock. This means there will be more crops to preserve and more feed to be treated with additives that meet the standards for organic farming.
References
Organic farming >>
Eurostat, 2007, Different organic farming patterns within EU-25 – An overview of the current situation. Manuscript 69/2007.
Eurostat >>
|
|
|
