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Alarming research findings from the US could accelerate the swing to organic produce already evident in the Australian marketplace according to the Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA).

The study, released this week May 17, has found that organophosphates – banned from use in certified organic food production - may be linked to attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADD and ADHD) in children.

Shane Heaton, nutritionist for the Biological Farmers of Australia, says that the findings come as no surprise.     

"This adds to evidence already available surrounding the harmful effects of pesticides on the brain. Previous studies have shown that pesticide exposure increases the risks of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease in older people,” Mr Heaton said.

“In 1998 American anthropologist Elizabeth Guillette showed that children exposed to pesticides are at great risk of impaired cognitive development, and now this study links pesticides to ADHD.”

The research was conducted by several prestigious American and Canadian universities and was based on data for 1139 children, aged 8 to 15 years, from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2000-2004). Children were tested for levels of organophosphate pesticide metabolites in their urine.

Mr Heaton went on to say that confirmed links between many common food additives have already prompted many parents to choose organic food for their children, and here's yet another compelling reason to do so.

“You can have good food, or cheap food, but not good, cheap food. Organic food isn’t a luxury, it is how food is meant to be,” he said.

Researchers also found that 93.8 per cent of those who took part in the study had one or more detectable metabolites in their urine and that every ten-fold increase in metabolites was linked to a 55 per cent to 72 per cent increased likelihood of ADHD.

“While more research is needed to establish whether a causal link exits, many consumers are taking the precautionary principal, and a positive approach, and opting for certified organic produce,” Mr Heaton said.

A Prospectus inviting investors to participate in a $30 million capital raising by Kailis Organic Olive Groves to fund the purchase of the Great Southern Olive Assets (GSOA) has been approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and is now open to investors until June 21, 2010.

The GSOA acquisition is a key step in achieving a fully integrated organic olive group for Kailis Organic Olive Groves. The company is set to become one of the world’s most globally significant producers of  organic extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) when it completes the  $19.7 million purchase (including stamp duty) of the 1,795 hectares of planted and irrigated olive groves in Western Australia originally developed by Great Southern.

In addition to the olive groves, the acquisition includes water licences, associated infrastructure, plant, equipment and a processor at the Dandaragan grove.

Until the June 21 deadline, investors can subscribe for $1.00 Shares in Kailis Organic Olive Groves. Minimum subscriptions in the conditional initial public offering are for parcels of 2,000 Shares.

Kailis Organic Chairman Peter Jones said the public offering was a unique opportunity to invest in a growing company with a proven track record in operating a fully integrated, commercial scale business producing high quality organic EVOO, which will be strengthened by full ownership of its core assets.

Managing Director Mark Kailis said there is strong interest in the company’s Prospectus among potential investors, particularly in the Eastern States, where the company has been busy explaining its fully integrated olive growing, processing and branding model.

“With 680,000 trees, products in more than 250 Australian retail outlets and exports to seven countries, investors in Kailis Organic Olive Groves will be part of a vibrant and rapidly growing leader in organic EVOO,” said Mr Kailis.

“We believe investors are interested in the simple and traditional nature of our business model in which we own the land, look after the trees, produce the oil and put our brands up on the shop shelf.”

Kailis Organic Olive Groves has managed the Great Southern Olive Assets for five years and has just commenced the 2010 harvest. Good growing conditions in recent months mean this year’s harvest should surpass the harvest of 2009. Dry conditions have meant Organic Extra Virgin Oil extraction rate (Fruit Weight to EVOO Extracted) has been at a record level.

Achieving organic certification in the next two years across all the Great Southern Olive Assets is one of Kailis Organic’s key goals. As a large proportion of the trees will reach maturity during this period they will provide a significant boost to the company’s organic production volumes at a time when Australian and international customers’ preference for organic products is increasing.

“Our group has been growing ‘organically’ for more than nine years, and the Great Southern Olive Assets represent a once in a life time opportunity. The key to our future success is the fully integrated nature of our business model. We manage the organic farms, we process the olive fruit, and we market the branded organic product. This is unique in the world of organic horticultural production, and taps into a strong and growing stream of demand both domestically and internationally.” says Mark Kailis.

By Andrew Cramb

Nitrogen plays a part in plant health but the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilisers is having an increasingly severe impact on the planet. Researchers from Stanford University have discovered a gene that controls nitrogen fixing efficiency in legumes, which has the potential to dramatically reduce the amount of fertilisers used in agriculture.

Nitrogen, like a number of other chemicals can impact the environment far beyond the area of application, with run-off contaminating water ways and creating dead zones incapable of supporting any plant life due to the depletion of oxygen in the soil. On an even larger scale, fossil fuel-based fertilizers can compound the issue of global warming as  they can degrade into nitrous oxide, a highly potent greenhouse gas which has 310 times the emission load of carbon dioxide.

However, the research from Stanford has identified a way of lessening the impact of nitrogen fertilisers by examining the inner workings of nitrogen producing bacteria. The result of these findings is the potential to make agriculture more sustainable through enhancing the use of legumes for producing nitrogen.

Senior author of the research publication Sharon Long explains the relatively unknown process of legumes turning nitrogen from the air into ammonia which feeds the plant and is essential for healthy soil and the success of crop rotation. The key part of the process uncovered by the research is a plant gene that controls the behaviour of symbiotic bacteria.   

Sharon Long said "These plants have a specialized protein processing system that generates specific protein signals. These were hitherto unknown, but it turns out they are critical to cause nitrogen fixation."

This is an important process in terms of sustainable agriculture as it has the potential to increase the variety of environments in which legumes can thrive, including nitrogen-poor soils. This will reduce the need for manufactured nitrogen fertilizer that many other plants rely on; however legumes still require the right symbiotic bacteria.

"When you deal with a natural soil, you are dealing with a lot of complexity. Everything we learn about what makes symbiosis work gives us a tool to understand why, sometimes, symbiosis fails," Long said.
"Plant breeders who are trying to help develop better-adapted plants can now analyse traits such as this. We've given them a new tool."

Organic farmers can look at soil analyses to see whether they have sufficient levels of Sulphur, Calcium and Molybdenum (trace elements important in their relationship with nitrogen compounds within plants) in the soil as the nutrients are important for legumes to function effectively.

Greg Paynter, Organic Advisory Service, says organic farmers have long known the benefits of the ecosystem functions of legumes in their cropping rotation but the research by Long and her associates further explains some of the physiological aspects of the soil/plant interaction regarding legumes and nitrogen fixation.

“Nutrition is the key to switching on or off the genetic effects within plants and animals and the realisation of their genetic potential. This paper provides information on one relationship between legumes and nitrogen fixing bacteria; there are other associations that exist between plants and soil biota.

“John Reghenzani from Terrain Natural Resource Management has been researching the association between free living bacteria (Azobacter) and Sugar cane. These bacteria have the capacity to transfer significant amounts of nitrogen (150kg/N/ha) into plant available forms, thus reducing the requirements for synthetic nitrogen in sugar cane production and the affects of nutrient leaching and runoff on the Great Barrier Reef,” Paynter said.

The main significance of the research publication from Long and associates is that once implemented in a practical application it has the potential to reduce the use of synthetic nitrogen by 100 million tons worldwide. This will reduce the associated embedded energy cost and green house gas emissions with its resulting Climate Change affects, allowing a considerable step towards sustainable agriculture.


Free environmental management training for certified organic farmers !

When developing, maintaining and improving Organic Management Systems and plans, it is of great benefit for organic farmers to understand the core principals of Environmental Management Systems (EMS).

Organic farmers who are interested in learning the principles of effective Environmental Management are offered a unique opportunity to participate in a fully government-funded training course.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has approved the ECAAS Environmental Management System training under its FarmReady reimbursement grant scheme. Effectively this means that a training grant of $1500 per financial year is available for people from the primary industry, their managerial staff members and/or any family members involved in running the business.

ECAAS offers training one-day training courses based on the requirements of the international ISO14001-standard as well as the Australian EnviroCert® standard.

All organic farmers are encouraged to participate in this training, whether they intend to have their EMS certified or not. There is no requirement for people participating in either (or both) of these training sessions to progress to formal environmental certification.

For those who choose to progress to certification at a later stage, ECAAS offers an attractive discount on initial certification costs for people that have attended this training.

For more information on training dates and locations and on how to get your reimbursement from DAFF, please contact ECAAS on 1800 798 001 or info@envirocert.com.au.

By Tara Miko

Eating organic food grown free of pesticides is one of the best ways to avoid cancer, a new report from the US has revealed.

The President’s Cancer Panel’s report released this month, entitled Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What we can do now, found organically grown produce reduced the chances of consumers contracting cancer due to the lower quantities of synthetic chemicals in the food.

The report also called on the American government to remove cancer-causing carcinogens and pesticides from food and water supplies.

BFA manager Holly Vyner says that consumers are already choosing organic as a preventative health initiative and that certified organic is often the only alternative for those people who genuinely want to limit their exposure to farm chemical residues in food.

“Organic is about healthy food choices. The prohibition of synthetic agro-chemicals, including all of those linked with health and environmental concerns is a cornerstone of organic food production,” she said.

“Consumers who choose organic are often more aware of the potential side effects of farm chemicals in the food chain, and are working consciously to minimise their contact with environmental toxins,” she said.

Several types of cancer, sterility and cognitive deficiencies have been linked to substances such as organophosphate insecticides and pesticides.

While the 240-page report only tested a few hundred of more than 80,000 chemicals available on the market, the findings are nevertheless alarming for consumers.

The panel is chaired by Dr LaSalle Leffall  Jr., an oncologist and professor of surgery at Howard University, and Dr Margaret Kripke, an immunologist at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston – both elected during the Bush administration.

They have written an impassioned plea to President Obama, urging him to “use the power” of his office to “remove the carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water, and air”.

“Even before they are born, [people] are bombarded continually with myriad combinations of these dangerous exposures,” it said.

“Many known or suspected carcinogens first identified through studies of industrial and agricultural occupational exposures have since found their way into soil, air, water and numerous consumer products.

“Some of these chemicals have been found in maternal blood, placental tissue, and breast milk samples from pregnant women and mothers who recently gave birth… chemical contaminants are being passed on to the next generation, both prenatally and during breastfeeding.”

Chief executive officer of Cancer Council Australia, Professor Ian Olver, supported the findings and called for the removal of carcinogens and pesticides from food and water.

In a media statement, Professor Olver said: “There are a lot of chemicals in society that could have potential for causing cancer and we should properly evaluate these … before we let them into foodstuffs.”