Organic Farming & Climate Change

What happens on our farms has huge consequences for our climate and impact on climate change. In Aotearoa New Zealand 50% of our greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. The way we farm can make or break the health of our atmosphere.

Agriculture’s climate problem stems from the way industrial farming is practiced. Soil erosion has caused massive carbon loss from soil into the atmosphere. What’s more, the synthetic nitrogen fertilisers used in conventional farming are hugely damaging for our climate. First, these fertilisers are manufactured using intensive fossil fuel energy. Then, when the fertilisers are applied to soil, the result is a release of nitrous oxide, one of the most potent greenhouse gases. 

The Solution

When it comes to mitigating the worst impacts of climate change, keeping excess carbon out of the atmosphere is the prime target for improving the health of our planet. One of the best ways to do that is by locking more of that carbon into the soil. Organic farm soils have the power to pull huge amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere.

Organic farming offers a clear and promising alternative to conventional farming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and getting carbon back into soils, where it belongs. Organic soil practices eliminate the need for synthetic fertilisers, and enable soil to store more carbon. In 2017 Northeastern University published one of the most comprehensive comparisons of organic and conventional farm soils and found that organic soils had 26% more long-term carbon-storage potential!

Organic practices can also make farms more resilient to climate change by improving soil health. The Rodale Institute in the USA conducted a 40-year comparison of organic and conventional farms and found that organic cropping systems can produce yields up to 40% higher in times of drought than conventional systems. That trial also found that organic farming used 45% less energy and released 40% fewer carbon emissions. Healthy soil also has more storage capacity, this means it can soak up more water in heavy rain, allowing it to filter down to aquifers deep underground. This reduces the risk of pooling, destructive run-off and flooding.

The Benefits of Organic Farming

Organic farming is a development of traditional methods. The essential principle is to co-operate with nature and not attempt to dominate it. This requires:

• Building up and maintaining soil fertility by recycling organic materials including crop residues and livestock wastes;
• Using green crops to return nitrogen to the soil;
• Minimizing the use of non-renewable resources. Organic farmers use no soluble mineral salt fertilisers and very few chemicals. Weed, disease and pests are controlled by crop rotation, the use of natural predators, biological diversity and the use of limited mechanical and chemical intervention;
• Creating good conditions for livestock, which allow for their behavioural needs.

 

All of us depend on the land for our food and our survival. It is critical that we develop an economic system that places preservation (rather than exploitation) of our resources at its heart.

Choosing organics is climate action.