A key feature of organic enterprises is their diverse enterprise mix. 

Most organic farms integrate a diverse range of plant and livestock enterprises in order to improve the resilience of their farming system.

For example, a livestock enterprise when incorporated into an organic system provides manure for soil improvement which in turn provides improved nutrition for crops and pastures (and hence livestock).

Livestock are used extensively for weed control on organic farms - they can graze down weeds before a crop is sown or they can be used after crop establishment for weed control and to improve tillering.

Crops can sometimes be chosen so that livestock selectively graze out weeds, leaving behind the less palatable crop.

Geese and ducks are often used in organic vegetable and fruit production to selectively remove grasses and some broad-leaf weeds from crops.

Livestock can also help with preparing the ground for planting by grazing and trampling crop stubble and reducing the length of a pasture sward.

In organic cropping-based enterprises, a mix of crops is selected in the cropping rotation to enhance soil structure and fertility, building for subsequent crops and minimising the likelihood of pest and disease problems developing.

The pasture phase of a mixed cropping - livestock system builds critical fertility and structure into rotations and reduces potential for the build-up of insects and disease.

Pastures on organics farms usually contain a mix of species including legumes, grasses and herbs which provide a more diverse and nutritionally balanced diet for livestock.

This higher plane of nutrition, combined with careful grazing management, provides improved health for livestock leading to a greater degree of resilience to incursions by pests and diseases. 

Organic farming seeks to create an agricultural system which, as near as possible, mimics natural ecosystem processes.

Diversity is a key feature of natural ecosystems, commonly referred to as biodiversity.

Biodiversity imparts resilience to an ecosystem through complex interactions.

The more complex or diverse an ecosystem, the more resilient or durable it becomes.

In organics, consideration given to spatial and temporal design when determining farm layout or rotation components can greatly improve pest control within a crop, for example:

the planting of pest-repelling plants within the main crop enterprise;

the strategic location of insectaries within shelterbelts and around crop borders to encourage predatory species;

and incorporating certain varieties in the enterprise mix with growing periods that avoid the optimum infection period for a particular disease or pest.

A diverse enterprise mix also imparts greater financial resilience - if one enterprise fails or is receiving poor prices, financial risk can be hedged through the improved performance of another.

Greater diversity within an organic farming system is however not without management challenges.

Organic farmers must be more observant of the impacts of their management decisions.

Because interactions are more complex, one change often results in changes to other parts of the system - sometimes with positive results, sometimes negative.

Organic farmers are always planning, observing, reacting and modifying their management options based on previous good and bad experiences.

A more diverse product range also requires greater marketing skills.

Where, when and how to sell the farm’s produce is always a challenge, which should be identified before planting, but can become more complex with a number of enterprises.

The contrary can also be said - a diverse enterprise may be and advantage when direct marketing or selling at farmer’s markets.

For example, some organic farmers offer weekly mixed baskets of in-season produce.

Contact Robyn Neeson, Yanco, (02) 6951 2735