Government to give free advice on going organic

Farmers in England will soon be offered free impartial advice on switching to organic production.

The British government has announced a new service that will offer farmers practical advice on moving to organic. The advice will take into account both the difficult of switching to organic, and the principled nature of the decision.

Current advice on organic farming is often seen to be biased. Defra hopes that their new service will be seen as impartial, offering only factual, unbiased information rather than taking the moral high-ground.

The advice service will be run jointly by environmental group Natural England and the Organic Research Centre. It will incorporate a website, a national helpline, and individually tailored on-farm visits.

The government’s minister for sustainable food and farming, Lord Rooker, said: As a Government we are keen to encourage English farmers to convert and adopt more sustainable production practices and take advantage of the wide range of opportunities offered by rising demand for organic food.

“The Organic Research Centre has an established record of providing the agriculture sector with high quality impartial conversion information and advice and we are delighted to be collaborating with them and NE in the delivery of this new service.”

A representative for Natural England added: “This is good news for farmers wishing to convert to organic production and subsequently good news for wildlife.”