Organic is still the best for farmers

There's never been a better time to convert to organic agriculture, one of Northern Ireland's leading organic dairy farmers has insisted.

Despite reports of a dramatic reversal in the numbers of UK dairy farmers converting to organic from conventional methods, Rex Humphrey, managing director of farming co-op United Irish Organic, insisted that now is the time to give up the chemicals.

Last week it was reported that rises of up to 80% in the price of organic feed for dairy herds mean that hundreds of organic milk producers across the UK are now running at a loss.

Farms undergoing conversion to organic which were capable of producing 5m litres of milk have abandoned the process to return to fertiliser-intensive farming.