From the Ground Up? The Principles of Australian Organic Agriculture - Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World - page 217

which has encouraged organic farmers to be motivated by commercial rather than
ideological principles.
However, other researchers examining organic agriculture in Europe, New
Zealand, Canada and Australia (Coombes and Campbell 1998 ; Kaltoft 1999 ;
Campbell and Liepins 2001 ; Michelsen 2001b ; Lund et al. 2002 ; Köpke 2005 ;
Lockie and Halpin 2005 ) have countered that while there is some evidence that
certification and industrialization has changed the structure of organic farming, the
core organic principles have not been compromised. They argue that certification
has not had a profound impact on the underlying beliefs of organic growers
themselves or the principles upon which their organic methods are based. Some
researchers argue that core organic principles have actually been reinforced rather
than eroded by government regulated certification (DeLind 2000 ; Lynggaard 2001 ;
Michelsen 2001a ).
To understand whether the core principles upon which organic produce was
founded in the 1940s are still applicable today, I return to each of the three key
elements discussed above - soil, chemical free, ecological wellbeing- and explore
their resonance with Australian organic agriculture in the 2000s.

11.3.1 Humus-Rich Fertile Soil

Fertile, humus-rich soil, the founding principle of Australian organic growing in the
1940s, continues to be the first principle of organic farming. Increasing soil humus
as a means of encouraging the growth of plants and animals continues to be the
most important organic practice today. Fertile, humus-rich soil features prominently
in the Australian certification standards. Echoing Albert Howard's writings 70 years
earlier the NASAA standards state:
Healthy soil is the prerequisite for healthy plants, animals and products. The maintenance
of soil health by ecologically sound means is at the heart of organic production systems
[

] NASAA places great emphasis on the levels of organic matter and humus maintained
in soils as an indicator of sustainability and of organic status

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Optimum soil fertility,
soil structure and biological activity are fundamental aims of organic farming (National
Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia 2004 ).

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The production of humus-rich fertile soil also remains a core organic practice. South
Australian beef farmer Brice Douglas, interviewed by the author, explained that his
first action as an organic grower was to test the mineral and organic content of the
soil on his farm and apply dolomite to reduce the acidity of the soil and add calcium
and magnesium to the soil. He explained his belief in the connection between fertile
soil and the health of plants, animals and humans:
You can go out into the paddock anywhere [on my farm] now and dig and there are
earthworms everywhere. The dung beetles have come back and here in the pond in front
of our house and in our four dams there are frogs everywhere. It is just the same as the
human body, which is what I did for 38 years [as a naturopath and osteopath]. You find out
what is the problem, the base cause, the deficiency. You give them the minerals and vitamins