Organic farmers grow and process foods by following general guiding principles established to ensure sustainable practices and animal welfare.
Organic farmers maintain the health of their soil by using manure or compost and other organic material instead of synthetic fertilizers. Biological fertilizers like compost, release nutrients slowly, build up organic soil matter, increase the capacity of soil to retain moisture and reduce leaching of nitrates into groundwater. Up to 40 percent of synthetic fertilizers used on conventional farms end up in ground and surface waters, eventually polluting rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Some organic farmers introduce beneficial insects such as ladybugs, soldier beetles, green lacewings, big-eyed bugs and beneficial nematodes that eat harmful insects.
Organic farmers often do not grow the same crop on the same field year after year. Crop rotation naturally replenishes the soil because different plants contribute varying nutrients to the soil. Disrupting the habitats of insect pests and weeds helps control them.
Organic farmers designate the edges of their land as buffer zones. This means the land is managed in accord with organic practices, but the crops grown on them aren't sold as organic because some plants in the buffer may have been exposed to genetically engineered crops or chemicals used in conventional agriculture but barred for organic farms.
Cover crops such as clover, rye, and wheat are planted between growing seasons to help replenish the soil with nutrients and prevent soil erosion. They also help maintain populations of beneficial insects. Cover crops can control weeds by smothering and shading them and outcompeting them for nutrients.
Organic farmers are required to accommodate the natural behavior of their livestock and meet health and wellness requirements.
Organic livestock must be fed 100 percent certified organic feed, with an exception for trace minerals and vitamins necessary to meet the animal's nutritional requirements. The land and pasture on which organic livestock are raised must be certified organic and meet all organic crop production standards. Organic ruminant livestock such as cattle, sheep and goats, must have free access to certified organic pasture for the entire grazing season.
Organic farmers aren't allowed to use drugs routinely to prevent diseases and parasites. Instead they are required to rely on animal selection and management practices. A few synthetic substances such as pain medication and de-wormers can be used to treat organic livestock if preventive strategies have failed. In extreme cases, when both preventative measures and treatment with approved substances has failed, the animal must be given the appropriate treatment with prohibited substances such as antibiotics. However, after such treatment, the animal and/or its products cannot be sold as organic.