Organic farms are havens for wildlife and provide homes for bees, birds and butterflies. Plant, insect and bird life is up to 50% greater on organic farms.
Over the last 50 years the UK has witnessed a steep decline in wildlife. One way to help reverse this is by supporting organic farming.
Organic farming depends on encouraging a diverse ecosystem to maintain soil fertility and to keep pests under control naturally. It does this by encouraging nature’s own predators by maintaining hedgerows and creating open, ‘wild’ spaces at the side of fields, and changing the crops planted each season, to keep soil fertile and avoid the need for chemicals.
In non-organic farming around 31,000 tonnes of chemicals are used each year in the UK to kill weeds, insects and other pests that attack crops. Organic farming uses mainly natural methods, developing good soil and healthy crops which have a strong natural resistance to pests and diseases. The UK Government has said that organic farming is better for wildlife, causes lower pollution from sprays, produces less carbon dioxide and fewer dangerous wastes.
