In a reaction to what he termed the Soil Association’s constant ‘knocking of traditional farming’, Richard Hirst, chairman of the NFU Board for Horticulture, has changed the organic certification on his farm to a new body.
Writing in the NFU publication British Farmer and Grower, Hirst, a Norfolk peas and salads grower, said that psychologically he was not an organic grower but it was essential that every acre earned its potential. He has 20 hectares in organic conversion, with a further 20 to follow over the next two years.
“I had to do this [change certification bodies] because I disagree with the way the Soil Association knocks traditional farming for its own profile,” he said.
“I am converting some of my land for a better return. But the majority will still be in traditional crop production. I can see the benefits of organic growing techniques, however there’s more to be gained by using a mix- and- match approach,” said Hirst.
“In Europe they take a different approach with shorter conversion periods and more flexible standards. It would be good if we could come in and out of organic land, like they do there.”
One prominent grower, who did not wish to be named, said he thought Richard Hirst had been absolutely right to defend conventional farming from the ‘constant and sometimes questionable arguments’ put forward by the Soil Association.
By way of example he highlighted the Soil Association’s ‘Food for Life’ targets of getting 30 per cent organic ingredients into the Cornwall hospital food programme.
A spokesman for one of the Cornwall authorities said that this figure was nowhere near 30 per cent or likely to be.
