Organic growers tend to have a rebellious or anarchic streak and there has been reluctance by many to embrace the HDC, seeing it as relevant only to conventional production. For those that are not members it can be difficult to see the benefits, as dissemination of research results is largely restricted to members. Presently 3% (£48k p.a.) of the total HDC field veg levy income is from organic growers. The HDC are keen to do more for organic growers and maintain that 35% of their research is of relevance to the organic sector. Some of that research was outlined at a workshop at HDRA in March and included control of weeds within the row using camera-guided hoes, the use of vertical barriers to exclude carrot fly, companion planting for pest management in field crops, control of white rot through composting onion waste and the use of biodegradable crop covers. The workshop provided a forum for growers to list and discuss pest, disease and weed problems and help define organic research priorities to address these. 78 people attended the day, of which 55 were growers or advisers and the remainder from the research and seed sectors.
Some of the main themes to emerge from the day that ran across all groups were:
• Learning and knowledge transfer.
• The necessity of understanding the environmental impacts of organic farming, especially when compared to conventional farming practice.
• Seed quality - still a major issue for organic growers.
• Energy efficiency and sensible use of energy.
In the specific crop groups these topics emerged as priority issues in the prioritisation exercise... (see table)
Growers favoured system-based solutions and pointed out the dangers in taking single elements and providing technical fixes without considering impacts on other areas within the farm system.
Many other concerns were raised and the full report is available from the HDC (including a summary of each of the main presentations).
Contact the HDC www.hdc.org.uk
Tel: 01732 848383 hdc@hdc.org.uk