2. We are what we eat and what we eat comes from the
soil. If our food producing soils are minerally depleted,
biologically inactive and chemically contaminated,
then so is our food! Unfortunately the tale of extractive
agriculture over the past few decades involves all three
of these limiting factors and our food has suffered as a
result. There have been several studies that have
highlighted this decline. In fact, there are nutritionists
now claiming that the food we currently consume has
just thirty percent of the nutrition found in the food
consumed by our Grandparents when they were
children, This dramatic decline is not solely related to a
decline in soil fertility, It is also linked to food
processing, preparation and transport, but the soil is a
major player.

3. Conventional, acid, salt fertilisers seemed like a
good idea at the time. There seemed no longer a
need for the high maintenance, soil restorative
practices of the past, when you could just throw on
some nutrition from a bag each season.
However, “easy”, is not necessarily best, and in
this case the new approach proved unsustainable.
The acid salt fertilisers decimated some of the key
creatures in the soil, responsible for soil rebuilding
and nutrient delivery. The most visible of these
creatures is the humble earthworm which has
disappeared from many conventionally farmed
soils.

4. However, the fungal organisms that build
humus were similarly affected. Humus is the
storehouse for all minerals and the home base
for the soil organisms that deliver these
minerals to the plant. Humus levels have
declined by 70% during the decades of
extractive agriculture and we are all paying the
price. Nutrient deficient plants always require
more chemical intervention. The use of farm
chemicals is now astronomical and our
food, our children and our planet are suffering
from this toxic deluge!

5. When we remineralise our soils and invigorate
the soil biology, we reclaim, forgotten
flavours, nutrient density and medicinal
qualities in our food.

6. Animals grown on nutrient dense pasture
supply meat, rich in Omega 3 fatty acids,
Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA – a powerful
anti-cancer compound) and that meat features
much lower levels of saturated fat than meat
from grain-fed animals (5 times less!)

7. Vegetables grown in these soils contain much
higher levels of antioxidants. We now know
that compounds like lycopene and
sulphurafane are incredibly protective but the
levels of these compounds in vegetables
depends upon soil life activity and the
mineralisation of the soil.

8. Fruit quality is similarly dependant upon soil
fertility. Several years ago in the UK
researchers found conventionally grown
oranges that contained zero vitamin C. It
appears that if you ignore the nutrient delivery
mechanisms in the soil (biology and mineral
balance) for long enough you produce
substandard food. This compromised produce
is invariably chemically contaminated because
nutrient density and inherent pest and disease
protection are directly linked.

9. The first thing to realise is that there is no
sacrifice required to become more sustainable
in your farming operation. In our popular, four
day, Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture
Course, you will learn that this change can be
the best thing that ever happened in your
farming operation. You will see that what is
best for the environment is actually best for
you! Your productivity and profitability is
expected to improve from the first season, not
five years down the track!

10. Attendance at an NTS course is a good starting
point but you may simply choose to call an
NTS Agronomist for free advice on any
problem you are experiencing at any time. You
may decide to soil test your property or leaf
test your crop, to improve nutrition precision.
You may also opt to trial some of our
breakthrough products. Platform™, for
example, is a unique mycorrhizal fungi
inoculum that can be remarkably productive
from just $5 (AUS) per hectare.