'Organic is better than conventional in so many ways'

"SO we're wasting our money by buying organic produce then?" asked the TV interviewer of a young researcher who had just written a report on the relative nutritional value of conventional and organic food (he found no significant difference).

The researcher declined to answer the next question — "Do you buy organic food?" — but added that he hadn't looked at the effect of herbicides or insecticides or the issue of sustainability.

The interviewer was too keen on his story to pick up the point.

The press the next day was just as bad: "Organic food not healthier" or similar. The researcher didn't say that, he implied the reverse.

Conventional crops are sprayed with herbicides — often many times — to keep down the weeds. Organic growers either use sophisticated weeding systems or grow through mats to achieve the same effect.

Conventional crops are sprayed with insecticides — often many times — to keep down pests. We cover them with fleece instead.

Which one would you prefer, or your children, to eat?

Conventional crops need ever-increasing applications of fertiliser to maintain production rates as soil fertility decreases. We achieve the same by continuously rebuilding the soil's fertility by sowing, and ploughing back in, green manures.

They add to the organic content of the soil and "fix" atmospheric nitrogen, and also anchor the top soil and prevent run-off, especially in winter. We also rotate the crops between fields so that the soil has a rest from a particular crop for three or four years and its specific diseases die away.

Leaving aside the energy and raw resources used in manufacturing and spreading these chemicals, with the implications for global warming and diminishing oil supplies, which system of farming is likely to leave the land in good and sustainable health?

True, energy is needed to manufacture the mats and fleeces we use, but they last for years. And, talking about energy, we shouldn't forget food miles: it is rumoured that the average German carrot travels 1,000km between farm and shop and we've all heard horror stories of produce travelling hundreds of miles from farm to central warehouse, only to travel back to a store near the farm. The joys of centralisation!

We have a farming system at Great Cummins Farm that uses less energy, produces untainted food in a sustainable way and, if we can sell direct through a box scheme, farmers' market or similar, cutting out the wholesalers' and retailers' margins, we can get much better prices.

So why doesn't everybody do it? One problem is that it takes time — a couple of years of conversion for the soil to get back into a condition where it is considered organic and therefore capable of reasonable production.

This is time when the grower is likely to see reduced margins; time, when you are relatively small as many organic growers are, in which everything has to fit. This includes tractor driving and maintenance, cultivation, sowing, potting on and planting out, weeding, harvesting, packing and delivering, not to mention planning, buying, midwifery and veterinary skills, selling, marketing, advertising and accounting.

Another problem is that, if you were not born into farming, you've got to learn to do these things. And there's the effort required — some farmers I know work incredibly long hours, far more than me. But you can't do many of the above from the seat of a tractor. I sometimes think I spend more time on my knees than the local vicar.

And form filling for Defra — although everyone has to do that.

There's also the perception that organic growing is a fairly kooky activity and that it is sometimes easier to stick with the conventional herd. It is viewed by some as an expensive "niche" market. But it needn't be.

During Organic Fortnight, go out and shop around or go to your farmers' market. Look for local producers and compare the prices. I suspect you can find organic produce at the same price, or cheaper, than conventional — except for table poultry, pork or eggs where organic feed is horrendously expensive and there are few alternatives.

You should feel good about buying it. And you, and your family, may even end up healthier as a result.

I could go on about animal welfare, antibiotic resistance and genetic modification, but I hope you catch my drift.