Natural Balance

On Jalna's BioDynamic Organic farm, pest and disease control is managed by treating the farm as an integrated organism. “Weeds and pests are useful indicators the system is out of balance,” said dairy farmer Peter Smith. “We don’t use herbicides to keep the weeds down around the water channels, for instance, preferring to use a ‘reach mower’ or hand chipping to remove weeds.

“Because we don’t use herbicides we don’t strip the soil of vegetation before planting, so it helps protect crops and holds more moisture.

“We also re-use all the manure and effluent from the dairy, collecting it in settlement ponds before feeding it out across the pastures to add nutrients naturally.

“We avoid the use of artificial fertilisers or chemicals, preferring to work with the natural balance,” says Peter Smith.