The substitution phase

The questions for many begin as: what can I use instead of superphosphate, what can I use instead of urea, or what can I use instead of Roundup? This is what Dr. Stuart Hill has called "the substitution phase". Most successful organic farmers experienced this stage. As they progressed in their conversion process they stopped asking about substitution and began to ask much deeper questions about the design and management of the farming system.

During this questioning phase the grower is confronting the first major hurdle of conversion, which is to do with attitude change. This is a change that needs to occur because the approach to farming problems is fundamentally different in an organic system. The old linear 'input-output' approach was appropriate to a 'control' mentality in our use of the earth, but it must give way to a holistic or 'systems' view in order to work with and alongside natural processes.

The holistic approach

We mean by a holistic approach one that goes beyond mere symptoms and apparent causes, to look at the whole context of a problem.