The Huron Expositor, 1994-03-16, Page 27Page 10 -Farm Progress '94
Topsoil should have 3%
organic matter says Hack
•hom page 9 that was away from the
page 9 was ocated the
orchard. What surprised him was
the trees that weren t sprayed didn't
have mites.
"And that really opened my
'eyes."
He quotes an Italian professor
who said 'Nature is an open book.
We have to learn how to read it.'
When conventional farmers are
faced with a pest or disease, their
first question is 'how can I kill it'.
But using the holistic approach,
Hack says the question he asks is
'how can I avoid it'.
"What is the situation that caused
the disease so I can avoid it nett
time."
Hack and his family has con-
verted to organic farming and he
says he's convinced they are better
off.
While crop yields are about the
same compared to conventional
farming, Hack realizes greater
savings as he doesn't buy chemical
sprays and fertilizers.
And he's convinced his family is
healthier because of it.
at least three per cent organic mat-
ter in topsoil, he says.
His method also ignores the use
of chemical sprays.
He doesn t need chemicals
because plants immunize themsel-
ves --they produce their own an-
tibodies --the enemies of viruses.
"That's the secret of organic
agriculture. We can live without
herbicides, fungicides and insec-
ticides."
Besides, he says microbial life is
not killed by fungicides.
"Why do we believe so much in
science and have totally lost faith in
God's creation?"
That creation, he says, was in
balance before man became smarter
and decided he could make it better.
Hack is a born-again organic
farmer and recalls how he tried to
cheat nature in the conventional
way. He learned some lessons along
the way.
Hack remembers spraying his
apple orchard for spider mites, and
that he didn't spray the odd tree
A leader in organa
by Ron Wassink
The Hack family of Kincardine
Township is a leader in the
move to organic farming in
Ontario.
They moved to Canada from
Germany in 1982. One of their
first jobs was to plant wind-
breaks. Today, the farm and its
fields are lined with 20,000
trees.
Bernard Hack switched to the
biodynamic method farming in
1969.
Organic farming in Ontario is
growing, thanks to people like
Bernard Hack. The Hack farm
sponsors as many as 10 field
days each year and Hack says
Quebec farmers are especially
receptive to his method of
farming.
"We get bus loads of farmers
from Quebec."
Hack is also sharing his
knowledge with Russian farmers.
He has travelled to Russia every
year for the past three years to
train the new farmers in Com-
munist -free Russia.
Under Communism, he says
Russia had no farmers. Instead
there were state farms of 10,000
to 20,000 acres that had farm
workers.
Hack is a farm consultant, who
visits Russia on his own accord,
paying his own way. He will be
leaving for Russia the end of
March and will return to Canada
in November. In the meantime,
his two sons will run the
family's Kincardine Township
cow -calf operation.
Biodynamic agriculture Was
developed from the Agris:ult.uc
Course of Rud, 't Steiner, give,.
in 1924 in Kot rwitz, Ger urs .
Biodynamic tattling s a
holistic approach to agriculture.
It is self sustainable, in that it is
a totally closed farm organism.
The use of artificial fertilizers,
synthetic chemicals or any harm-
ful substances are eliminated.
c farming
With the help of the
biodynamic preparations which
are specially prepared substances
and herbs, biodynamic farmers
work with nature for healing and
renewal. The application of the
preparations is where the healing
of earth and nature begins. The
preparations contain the remedies
which can heal the soil, feed its
life and guarantee production.
Biodynamic fanning'is a step
beyond organic agriculture. The
biodynamic farmer looks at
weeds, insect and diseases not as
pests that must be eliminated
through use of specific chemi-
cals, but as indicators of mis-
t'ikes that are being wade.. He
u as an environmentally sound,
cologicaljy anted and econ-
omically :table method of
working with nature, not against
it.
A biodynamic farmer considers
himself a steward of the soil, a
builder of the future and a ser-
vant of the spiritual in nature.
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MIKE SNOBELEN FARMS LIMITED
505 Canning Street (Advantage Member) Office (519) 528-3203
LUCKNOW, NOG 2H0 Fax (519) 528-3542
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