While the nature of suburban land use by residential neighbours prevents Nowra High School’s farm from gaining organic certification, students have adopted organic principles to improve sustainability, with impressive results.

They’re in good company: new data shows nearly a doubling of organic farmgate sales - despite the drought.

Located on the floodplains of the Shoalhaven River, the school farm was subject to flooding for many years and often received a top dressing of soil until a levee was constructed along the river bank.

"Practising traditional farming methods, it became a closed system and the soil, though naturally fertile, was becoming depleted," said teacher Trevor Newman.

"So a conscious decision was made to convert the farm to an organic production system.

"Richard Pike, the school’s new farm attendant, brought an organic ethos with him and his enthusiasm saw an incredible change to the productivity of the farm."

Adopting the methods of Pat Coleby, the author of Natural Farming - A Practical Guide and other publications, he and the students tested the soils and remineralised them with powdered basalt and lime and dolomite, to levels recommended by the test analysis.

A combination of winter active lucerne and mixed pasture paddocks are rotated with sweet corn each year.

"Green manure crops are an important part of the rotation, being the cornerstone of ecological sustainable agriculture," Mr Newman said.

Excess lucerne is harvested for hay production and there are no failed crops, only an alternative end product.

Spoilt hay is used as garden mulch or converted into compost.

In the search for a small animal suited to coastal conditions, the school decided to establish a Dexter cattle stud.

The cattle are a manageable size for students and are ideal for the school farm’s small acreage.

The farm also has a small egg laying enterprise of Isa brown hens, sustained by certified organic feeds.

In the student garden beds, summer green manure crops are sown during the school vacation and dug in, as preparation for the next school year.

Soil is disturbed only to sow these crops.

At other times, the school composts and employs no dig methods with lucerne mulches and compost.

The students sow winter green manure crops of lupins, vetch, dun peas and rye corn following the first vegetable rotation each school year, then rotated these into freshly composted beds, similar to Peter Cundle’s garden bed rotation (as seen on ABC’s Gardening Australia).

NSW Department of Primary Industries agronomist, Amanda Mather, was "impressed by the work put in by staff and students and the farm was a wonderful opportunity to learn about and experience organic based agriculture" as a sustainable alternative to conventional farming practices.

Contact Trevor Newman, Nowra High School, (02) 4456 1462, or Amanda Mather, Berry, (02) 4464 6007.

Organics boom proven despite drought

The first official Australian organic data in four years reveals nearly a doubling of farm gate sales and suggests the organics industry is hugely resilient in drought.

Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA) commissioned the University of New England’s Organic Research Group to independently come up with an industry snapshot.

The findings, presented in the Australian Organic Market Report (AOMR) are based on industry-wide survey data and build upon research published by the Federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) in 2004.

"While most agriculture has suffered in recent years from drought and floods, many sectors of the organic industry have recovered to be able to consolidate and expand," Dr Andrew Monk, BFA director and standards chair, said.

"For an industry which has somewhat been restricted by a lack of relevant and accessible information in recent years, the [report] is a benchmark research document which promises to assist the industry’s future monitoring and planning."

According to Dr Monk, the report will help potential and existing organic producers and marketers make better decisions.

He said it would also offer "reference points for government, media and interested parties [to get] a better understanding ... of the nature, size and structure of the organic industry in Australia".

"Such rapid growth is likely to be attributed to a combination of consumer-driven interest in purchasing organic products in line with overseas trends, as well as possibly the ... more resilient nature of organically well-managed soils, enabling faster recovery following extreme dry or wet weather periods alike."

The AOMR reports on farm gate value by sector; estimated retail, import and export values; the reported unit price range for each sector; numbers of organic farmers and operation growth; area of organic production in Australia; and demographic information on organic stakeholders and consumers.

Dr Monk says it is intended to commission research every two years from 2008, underwritten by BFA with matching support from industry and governments.

The 2008 key funding entities include the BFA, Westpac, all six State governments and eight supporting organic businesses, representing the diversity of the supply and value chain of organic production and marketing in Australia.

Visit www.bfa.com.au for the report or contact Dr Andrew Monk, 0429 960 044, standards@bfa.com.au, or Scott Seaman, NSW DPI, Bathurst, (02) 6330 1209.