Laurence Smith

The energy efficiency of organic agriculture: a review.

Growing populations and a constrained fossil-manufactured energy supply present a major challenge for society and there is a real need to develop forms of agriculture that are less dependent on finite energy sources. It has been suggested that organic agriculture can provide a more energy efficient approach due to its focus on sustainable production methods. This review has investigated the extent to which this is true for a range of farming systems. Data from about 50 studies were reviewed with results suggesting that organic farming performs better than conventional for nearly all crop types when energy use is expressed on a unit of area basis. Results are more variable per unit of product due to the lower yield for most organic crops. For livestock, ruminant production systems tend to be more energy efficient under organic management due to the production of forage in grass–clover leys. Conversely, organic poultry tend to perform worse in terms of energy use as a result of higher feed conversion ratios and mortality rates compared to conventional fully housed or free-range systems. With regard to energy sources, there is some evidence that organic farms use more renewable energy and have less of an impact on natural ecosystems. Human energy requirements on organic farms are also higher as a result of greater system diversity and manual weed control. Overall this review has found that most organic farming systems are more energy efficient than their conventional counterparts, although there are some notable exceptions.

UK consumer reactions to organic certification logos

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider whether UK consumers recognise and trust organic certification logos and whether the presence of these logos on a product increases consumer willingness to pay for that product.Design/methodology/approach – To ascertain the reaction of UK consumers to organic certification logos commonly used in the UK, this study makes use of three methods: focus groups, a consumer survey and a willingness to pay experiment (choice experiment).Findings – These three approaches reveal that UK consumers associate certain benefits with organic foods but are generally unaware of how the industry is regulated. With regards to trust of the logo, the standards they think underlie the logo and the inspection system that they think is associated with the logo, UK consumers rate the Soil Association and Organic Farmers and Growers logos more highly than the EU logo or products labelled with just the word “organic”. They appear willing to pay a premium for the additional assurance ...

Public Goods and Farming

There has recently been an increase in interest in the “public goods” that could be provided by a farm alongside its primary function of agricultural production. This paper reviews recent reports on the topic of public goods and, in particular, the public goods provided by agriculture and then goes on to discuss the development of a tool which can be used to assess the provision of public goods on a farm across a range of areas: soil management, biodiversity, landscape and heritage, water management, manure management and nutrients, energy and carbon, food security, agricultural systems diversity, social capital, farm business resilience, and animal health and welfare.

Predicting the effect of rotation design on N, P, K balances on organic farms using the NDICEA model - CORRIGENDUM

Laurence G. Smith, Davide Tarsitano, Cairistiona F. E. Topp, Stephanie K. Jones, Catherine L. Gerrard, Bruce D. Pearce, Adrian G. Williams and Christine A. Watson. Predicting the effect of rotation design on N, P, K balances on organic farms using the NDICEA model. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, available on CJO2015. doi:10.1017/S1742170515000381. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems: 31(6); 574 doi:10.1017/S1742170516000065

Predicting the effect of rotation design on N, P, K balances on organic farms using the NDICEA model

The dynamic model Nitrogen Dynamics in Crop rotations in Ecological Agriculture (NDICEA) was used to assess the nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) balance of long-term organic cropping trials and typical organic crop rotations on a range of soil types and rainfall zones in the UK. The measurements of soil N taken at each of the organic trial sites were also used to assess the performance of NDICEA. The modeled outputs compared well to recorded soil N levels, with relatively small error margins. NDICEA therefore seems to be a useful tool for UK organic farmers. The modeling of typical organic rotations has shown that positive N balances can be achieved, although negative N balances can occur under high rainfall conditions and on lighter soil types as a result of leaching. The analysis and modeling also showed that some organic cropping systems rely on imported sources of P and K to maintain an adequate balance and large deficits of both nutrients are apparent in stockless systems. Although the K deficits could be addressed through the buffering capacity of minerals, the amount available for crop uptake will depend on the type and amount of minerals present, current cropping and fertilization practices and the climatic environment. A P deficit represents a more fundamental problem for the maintenance of crop yields and the organic sector currently relies on mined sources of P which represents a fundamental conflict with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements organic principles.