Organic Cereal Production

Hollands Farm Bourne End

Hollands Farm organic cereal production

The farm (excluding the livery grazing) will be fully organic from August 2009. This means that, instead of using artificial fertilizers and sprays to produce crops, there will be a crop rotation, which will include periods of ‘fertility building’.

Hollands Farm organic cereal production

In the ‘fertility building’ period, the nodule bacteria on legumes E.G. red and white clover peas, beans and lucerne is sown to fix nitrogen in the soil, which in turn will be used to provide fertility for the cereal crop.

Weeds are controlled, where possible, by ploughing and cultivating the land prior to sowing. After that there are few options for weed control. Consequently, the crop yield will be a fraction of what one could expect in conventional cereal production.

Hollands Farm organic cereal production

Due to organic yields being a fraction of what one would expect in conventional crop production, the value of the product has to be significantly higher in order to maintain a viable business.

The organic products that we grow could be as follows:

Cereals (wheat, barley, oats, triticale) for organic livestock feed E.G. beef cattle, milk production, lamb, pork and poultry or egg production

Pulses (peas, beans) for protein for organic livestock feed E.G. beef cattle, milk production, lamb, pork and poultry or egg production

Some types of wheat for organic bread

Some types of oats for organic porridge and/or breakfast cereals