Ten years ago, author/consultant, Graeme Sait, researched and developed the first Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture course and, along with a team of highly credentialed Agronomists, presented the information to a group of fifty farmers. Since then this four day learning opportunity, supported by a 360 page manual, has gone on to become the leading course of its type in the world. Thousands of growers and consultants have now been trained in four continents and the accolades have been many. The former head of the USDA organic division has referred to it as “the best course I have ever attended” and the CEO of Woolworths in South Africa has called it “essential training for all food producers on the planet”. Attendees regularly rank it at 10/10 on their post course evaluation forms and this unique educational event is invariably sold out at every sitting. (more…)

1) Lift Your Quality – Organics has a reputation for idealism, which can be good motivation but bad business. Consumers should get more than chemical-free when they buy organic. They should get forgotten flavours and extended shelf life to justify the premium, and this is all about nutrition. If you are deficient in zinc or boron, all of the compost in the world won’t correct that deficiency. You need soil and tissue tests and good advice to sponsor a quality-driven, precision nutrition approach that will bring the customer back for more. NTS are world leaders in soil and plant nutrition. (more…)

At a recent Acres USA conference I was particularly impressed with a keynote presentation by the International, bestselling author, Jeffrey Smith. His integrity shone through and his research was exceptional. He agreed to the following interview and we spent a fascinating afternoon together. Jeffrey is the world’s foremost expert on the dangers of GM food. He has consulted with world leaders on this issue and has been often quoted in leading media outlets including the New York Times, The Washington Post and Time Magazine. (more…)

An article by Sonja Burger. “Steer clear of the ‘there’s a problem – let’s-throw-a-chemical-on-it mentality’,” warns Graeme Sait, Australian expert on high-production sustainable agriculture.  Sait, the CEO of Nutri-Tech Solutions in Australia, recently spoke to farmers in Paarl about alternative methods to control disease and pests. In vineyards across the world an unseen battle plays itself out every year. A Botrytis cinerea spore lands on a grape vine. The fungus inadvertently releases its signature protein, its natural calling card. Foliar receptors in the grape vine pick up this calling card and bind to the signature protein, setting off a cascade of biochemical responses. (more…)

An article by Sonja Burger. Weeds have suffered from a bad reputation for centuries, and often undeservedly so. Yes, they can reduce crop yields and quality, harbour pests and diseases, taint milk, contaminate wool and poison livestock. But, they are often not given credit for colonizing bare soil and preventing erosion, for loosening up hard soil and transporting nutrients from the sub-soil.  Their role in scavenging and conserving nutrients such as nitrogen and sulfur, which might otherwise leach away, is often ignored. (more…)

There is a very special NTS event scheduled for 27^th Sep – 1^st October.  Some of you may be familiar with my love affair with a little volcanic island called Norfolk, located 150 minutes from Brisbane in the emerald blue pacific. I was originally sponsored by the Norfolk Island government to educate local growers about sustainable agriculture and I have returned several times for seminars over the past two years. Then, last year we decided to conduct one of our four day certificate courses on the island and that proved a resounding success. (more…)

In this article we will look at practical implementation of biological farming principles focusing upon the strategies that are proven to deliver greater yield and quality while reducing the need for chemical intervention. The following summary can serve as a box ticking audit of your progress along the biological path.  (more…)

Nitrogen is a critically important building block for proteins, enzymes, vitamins and even DNA but if oversupplied there are several associated health issues. There are two forms of nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen but it is the nitrate form that can be problematical. When this form of nitrogen is ingested via food and drinking water it can be converted in the gut to nitrites, which then combine with hemoglobin to form methemoglobin. This compound restricts the capacity of the blood to carry oxygen and oxygen levels at the cellular level can be compromised. Professor Otto Warburg won his Nobel Prize for his discovery that anaerobism is a principle root cause of cancer. (more…)

NTS is a pioneer in biological golf course management and there are now many leading clubs around the globe working with these principles. I found it hard to become excited about recreational turf initially, as it seemed a frivolous digression from my work in improving animal and human health via the soil. Teaching new turf tools to green keepers seemed a paltry achievement in comparison to training food producers to lift their game. Then, I thought beyond a better playing surface and realised that there were changes we could encourage that would also reduce environmental impact while minimising chemical contamination of course workers, surrounding estates and the golfers themselves. (more…)

Norfolk Island is a 10,000 hectare patch of Pacific paradise with rich volcanic soils, idyllic national parks and glorious beaches. The people of this island share the strong sense of community that is so sadly missing elsewhere in this trouble world. There is no imported fresh produce permitted here so the food producers on the island literally become stewards of their community’s health and many of the local growers have recognised the significance of their role. I have visited Norfolk Island several times over the last two years to educate the local producers about the benefits of biological agriculture. (more…)