Maintaining soil fertility

• Organic farming aims 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 fertilizersThe use of products as supplementary nutrients is divided into three categories, permitted, restricted, and prohibited.

• Permitted products: include rock phosphate, limestone, ground chalk, calcium sulphate, gypsum, basic slag, seaweed, fish meal, and herbal sprays.
• Restricted products: include rock potash (subject to chlorine analysis) Epsom salts, and 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, a nd all other mineral fertilizers such as urea, CAN, and superphosphate.

Livestock and animal husbandry

• The integration of animal husbandry in organic farms in temperate and arid zones is one of the basic principles behind organic farming.
• Animal husbandry enables the recycling of organic matter to be further optimized in agro-eco systems, e.g. crop residue fodder for the animals and nminimaldung for the crops.
• Planting legume 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, but they can also act as a constant source of forage for cattle.

Genetic modification of crops

• Main articles: Genetically modified crops, Genetically modified food, and Genetically modified food controversies
• A key characteristic of organic farming is the rejection of genetically engineered plants and animals.
• On October 19, 1998, participants at IFOAM’s 12th Scientific Conference issued the Mar del Plata Declaration, where more than 600 delegates from over 60 countries voted unanimously to exclude the use of genetically modified organisms in food production and agriculture.
• GMOs are excluded from organic farming, there is concern that the pollen from genetically modified crops is increasingly penetrating organic and heirloom seed stocks.