• Farming Secrets
  • Free Resources
    • Blog
    • Webinar Replay
    • Recommended Books
    • Facebook Group
    • 7 Steps to Healthy Soils
    • Free Gifts
  • Members Access PRO
    • Pro Membership
    • Members Perks PRO
    • Farm Tours / Walk the TalkPRO
    • Gold Nuggets PRO
    • Mastermind Replays PRO
    • Regenerative Soil Mastermind CallPRO
  • Courses
    • All Courses
    • Featured Courses
    • Animal Health
    • Biodynamics
    • Compost and Compost Teas
    • Farming Systems
    • Human Health
    • Soil Health
  • My Courses
  • Farming Secrets
  • Free Resources
    • Blog
    • Webinar Replay
    • Recommended Books
    • Facebook Group
    • 7 Steps to Healthy Soils
    • Free Gifts
  • Members Access PRO
    • Pro Membership
    • Members Perks PRO
    • Farm Tours / Walk the TalkPRO
    • Gold Nuggets PRO
    • Mastermind Replays PRO
    • Regenerative Soil Mastermind CallPRO
  • Courses
    • All Courses
    • Featured Courses
    • Animal Health
    • Biodynamics
    • Compost and Compost Teas
    • Farming Systems
    • Human Health
    • Soil Health
  • My Courses

    Shopping Cart

    No products in the cart.

    Sign in Sign up

    Shopping Cart

    No products in the cart.

    • Log In
    • Register
    • Get Started
    • Learn About Soil
      • What’s New
      • Blog
      • Farm Tours
      • Podcast
      • Webinar Replay
    • Buy Courses
      • All Courses
      • Featured Courses
      • Short Courses

    Are You Farming Biologically? – Part 2

    Professor Carlo Leifert, director of the new Centre for Organic Research at Southern Cross University provided statistics on the health benefits of consuming organic products, based on an analysis of the hundreds of studies that have been conducted. Antioxidant levels are higher, omega-3 fatty acids are much greater in organic meat and milk, and cadmium and pesticide residues are much lower. Consumers of organic foods experience less eczema in children, less allergy problem, less obesity and less cancer. He concluded that it would be cheaper for governments to subsidize organic food than cover the health care costs caused by chemically-produced food.

    Michael Phillips, orchardist from New Hampshire in the US and author of The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist, which the OAA bookshop has for sale, spoke at length on mycorrhiza. He said the most important role of the farmer is not to screw up the magnificent mycorrhizal system that nature has devised to keep plants and soil healthy. Mycorrhizae are easily destroyed by most modern farming practices: herbicides, fungicides, soluble fertilisers, bare soil and soil disturbance.

    About 95% of plant species require a mycorrhizal association; some have lost it: the beet and brassica families, and many weeds. Plants give out up to two thirds of all the carbohydrates they produce through their roots to support mycorrhiza. In return the mycorrhiza expands the root system by 10-100 times, enabling better water and nutrient searching. Glomalin is a by-product, a soil binder that is responsible for most of the carbon sequestration in soil.

    Michael Phillips said some damaged soils take a long time to recover. The arbuscular mycorrhizae that are associated with most crops are not very mobile, in contrast with the mycorrhizae associated with forest trees, which form mushrooms and toadstools that disperse their spores into the air. The arbuscular mycorrhizae produce their spores underground and can only spread slowly by earthworms and other soil life. Therefore, help is often needed to bring soils back to life: inoculation with mycorrhiza and other microbes, aeration, compost, and lime and other fertilisers.

    The conference also featured several successful biological farmers talking about the transition to their current management systems. Nick Kelly, WA cropper, found the no-till system he was using, very dependent on herbicides, was failing and weeds were getting worse. Now he uses summer cover crops, lupins and millet, which grow well in the hot dry summer. While other farmers want nothing growing in the summer, not a single weed, believing that weeds take moisture out of the soil, Nick Kelly has found the extra water-holding capacity of all-year growth more than compensates for any loss of soil moisture during the summer. Dan Falkenberg is a grape grower in the Barossa Valley. He uses straw mulch under the vines and perennial native grass between the rows, which has greatly increased grape production and wine quality. Two hundred tonnes of compost are made annually, using barley straw, chicken manure, mushroom compost and grape marc. The native grass attracts seed and insect eating birds which do not eat fruit, and beneficial insects. The grass suppresses the fescue that used to grow there, a major soil moisture robber. Sheep are grazed in the vineyards after harvest until early spring.

    The biological farming conference was very valuable and inspiring. I can recommend attending the next one. There is no doubt that chemical agriculture is obsolete and is gradually fading from the scene.

     

    Ref: Report by Alan Broughton

     

    Soil Lovers at Soil Learning Center Say:

    Understand The Function Of Mycorrhizae In Your Soil

    Download PDF

    🔒 PRO Access Only

    Some content on this page is locked to members only!

    Dig Deeper and unearth your connection to the soil. Soil PRO membership is a revolutionary community that connects you with all things soil-related, from global challenges right down to the soil in your own backyard.

    Unlock the years of video archives, search the vault for "soil-utions", connect with mentors who can help you fast track and join an online community of soil loving enthusiasts on our Mastermind Calls.

    It's non-stop soil learning goodness!
    UPGRADE TO PRO NOW
    Locked

    We acknowledge First Nations owners of Country and their continuing connection to the land, waters and culture across Australia and from all over the world. As Soil Lovers we respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of all the lands on which we work and pay our respects to the Elders past present and emerging. When caring for your land take a moment in stillness to respect the wisdom your land is sharing with us.

    Facebook-f X-twitter Instagram Youtube Microphone-alt

    Latest Soil Blogs

    Challenging Times For Farmers: How Regenerative Farming Helped John from NSW Build Resilience Against Climate Extremes

    Earth Month: Compost is the Quiet Revolution That Restores the Soil

    Worms: The Unsung Heroes Beneath Our Feet

    The belief that regenerative agriculture cannot sustain global food demands is a misconception.

    Is Regen Farming A Priority For You Right Now?

    Celebrating Change In The Last 20 Years Of Farming

    Soil Matters Monthly Newsletter!

    Dig into the most up-to-date news on soil health and regenerative trends – with community tips from top experts and mentors! Sign Up Now!
    Our sign-up form is currently undergoing maintenance and will be available shortly. We appreciate your patience.

    ©2006 - 2025 All rights reserved.

    Made with 🤎 Created by Soil Lovers at Farming Secrets.

    Omg... this sale is crazy!

    Days
    Hours
    Minutes
    Seconds

    hurry up and grab these deals:

    • 50% Courses
    • 30% Digital Downloads
    • 30% Memberships
    View all the deals