Farmers need to be better informed in their decisions to ensure they have a sustainable future, and introducing organic practices was a good option, a seminar was told last week.
More than 140 people, including students, staff and the public attended the "Organic Systems in Agriculture" seminar at Telford Rural Polytechnic, which featured a series of guest speakers from various backgrounds.
Dairy farmer John Ingram spoke from his 30-plus years of farming, and offered a sincere push for changes in the way farming is approached.
Chemical additives in the food chain was not only detrimental to the environment but also to animals and humans.
"In order to farm sustainably, we need to re-think the systems we are using in New Zealand, question what they are doing and become better informed to make decisions on land use, animal health and the effects on human wellbeing."
Massey University senior lecturer in resource management and rural development, Terry Kelly, presented his findings on the comparisons between conventional and organic dairy production and spoke about the advantages of organic, especially the lower nitrogen levels of its systems, as regional councils move to limit environmental damage from dairy production.
The research showed organic dairy production was as financially rewarding as conventional farming.
Bio Gro director Jenny Sloan, who has organically farmed for nearly 20 years, spoke on natural remedies to cure sick animals.
Keitha Laming, Fonterra's programme manager of specialty milks (organics), talked about how the dairy company had changed the payout method for suppliers who are fully certified organic producers.
Although the company's only organic processing plant is in the central North Island, she did not rule out the possibility of the company investigating a South Island plant.
Alliance Group sheepmeat and venison marketing manager, John Rabbit, talked about how meat is marketed in the United Kingdom, the profile of an organic meat customer, and what motivated customer purchases.
He believed the premium for organically-grown New Zealand mutton would not be as strong in the future as household budgets came under stress.
There was also a strong "Buy Local" campaign in the United Kingdom, he said.
To counter this, New Zealand had to keep promoting its reputation of being clean and green.
Moa Flat farmers Rith and Beatrice Lee are into their second year of converting their property to organic farming.
They spoke passionately about the reasons behind their choice and felt the land they were farming was ideal for organic production.
They have had little trouble controlling weeds and and pests and are enjoying a new way of farming, the seminar heard.