Organic production

What is organic production? What distinguishes organic farming and animal husbandry, and how can organic production help Sweden reach the national environmental goals? You can read more about these topics here.

The term organic production includes

• organic cultivation
• organic animal husbandry, including aquaculture
• processing and processing of food, feed and yeast.

It is about producing food in a long-term and sustainable way - from soil to table. To do so, you need to use natural resources such as soil, energy and water in a way that affects the environment as little as possible. Organic production should also support biodiversity and safeguard animal welfare.

Objectives for organic production

In organic production, one should strive to

• protect the environment and climate
• preserve soil fertility in the long term
• reduce the amount of harmful substances in the environment
• maintain high animal welfare standards
• respect the animals' species-specific behavioral needs
• promote short distribution chains and produce more food locally in the various EU member states
• preserve rare and indigenous breeds that are endangered
• develop the range of plants adapted to the specific needs and goals of organic farming
• contribute to a high degree of biodiversity
• promote the development of organic plant breeding to make it more profitable to grow organically.

So organic production stands out

There are, above all, three things that characterize organic production:

• how to deal with pests and weeds
• how to ensure that plants get enough nutrition
• what you feed the animals with and how the animals are kept.

Prevention methods against pests and weeds

In organic farming, only a few plant protection products can be used against weeds, diseases and pests. Organic growers therefore primarily use preventive methods. For example, they may choose to grow plant varieties that are better resistant to attack.

In organic production, the plant sequence is more varied. When the same plant is grown several years in a row, the risk of pests and weeds that thrive in that plant increases. The weeds that, after all, multiply are cleaned away by machines or by hand. However, switching between different plants is something that all farmers need to be careful about.

Organic plant nutrition

In organic production, it is important to keep up with the plant industry and to build up the fertility of the soil. The grower must not use artificial fertilizers, such as mineral fertilizers that have been produced in industrial processes. Instead, fertilizers and other plant nutrients from animals and plants are used on their own farms.

Organic growers can nourish the plants by using

• manure from animals
• plant compost
• products from the plant or animal kingdom that do not become food
• green manure (which means that you grow plants that nourish them when they are cultivated in the soil, for example legumes).

These types of plant nutrients are also used in conventional cultivation, but then as a complement to mineral fertilizers.

The important role of animals

Organic animal husbandry strives for the animals to be able to behave as naturally as possible. For example, chickens may not be kept in cages, and the basic rule is that cows and other cattle should be kept loose. Pigs and poultry also have the right to stay outside and get roughage.

Keepers of organic production are not allowed to use medicines for preventive purposes, but only if they are really needed. Therefore, it is especially important to have animals with good health. Animal health problems are prevented by, for example

• choose animals of suitable breeds with suitable genes
• use methods of animal husbandry that prevent the spread of diseases.

In addition, keepers with organic production must have documented knowledge of animal welfare and animal health.

Plant and animal husbandry must be in balance, so that the animals primarily feed on their own farm and the manure is used to nourish their own field. An ecological farm with animal husbandry thus functions as a cycle, where all the farm's resources are used efficiently. Farms that have only plant cultivation achieve a similar effect by cooperating with animal husbandry nearby and using, for example, bio-fertilizers as a plant industry.

Benefits and challenges of organic production

It is often talked about that organic foods are more environmentally friendly and healthier than foods produced in non-organic production. But is organic production better than other types of production?

There are several benefits to organic production. Here are some examples:

• The limited use of plant protection products in organic farming helps to reduce the spread of toxins in the environment.
• The varied production sequences of organic production with a greater element of whale cultivation can help increase biodiversity. This is especially true in areas where the variation in the landscape is not as great, as in the plains, for example.
• There is a higher demand for animal welfare in organic production. For example, all kinds of animals should have the opportunity to stay outside.

At the same time, there are advantages to non-organic production. For example, it is more time efficient, since you do not have to spend as much time cleaning weeds. Non-organic production also yields higher harvests in many cases. This is because chemical agents may be used to control weeds and plant diseases, which would otherwise reduce crop yields.

Organic production also follows stricter rules than other types of production and usually provides a little less amount of food. This makes production more expensive, which in turn leads to higher prices in the grocery store.

In the short term we would not be able to produce as much food as today if there was only organic farming. Thus, organic agriculture and other agriculture complement each other. Both organic and non-organic production is constantly evolving to provide us with more food, without it having a greater impact on the environment or adversely affecting the health of animals and humans.