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How organic farming started

Concern about the industrialisation of farming post-WW2 led some farmers to reject chemicals and go organic. The Soil Association, set up in 1946, was central to organic farming.

In the aftermath of World War Two pesticides and chemical fertilisers started to become more widespread in the UK. Worries about the effect this would have on soil quality led Lady Eve Balfour to establish the Soil Association to promote natural farming techniques. John Butler has been a farmer all his life and he has been speaking to Dina Newman about Lady Eve and the early days of Britain's organic farming movement.

Photo: Lady Eve Balfour with some of her friends. Copyright: The Soil Association.

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9 minutes

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Thu 18 Apr 2019 12:50GMT

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  • Thu 18 Apr 2019 07:50GMT
  • Thu 18 Apr 2019 12:50GMT

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