Soil -

As a farmer, the quality of my soil is paramount to the well being of the whole farm, poor soil = poor crops = poor income. In addition to this, poor grass quality will mean that any livestock grazing that grass will be prone to poor liveweight gains and to poor health. The same is true of us, if we eat just junk food we will not be well (remember the guy who ate just beef burgers for a month on the TV?). The food we eat influences our health.

In the 1920s and 1930s a Dr William Albrecht discovered specific ailments in people who were confined to certain areas of the USA., and looking into it further he found that the soils in these areas were deficient in certain minerals. This meant that all the food that the people eat in that area was also deficient which meant they also became deficient. Low iodine in one area's soils meant that a higher proportion of people there suffered from gout than in any other part of the country. This localisation of problems has now fallen as transport of food has taken place across the world; one food you eat may well be deficient in one mineral but the next could be rich in the same mineral and so it partially evens itself out; (at least we hope!).

Whatever is produced on the farm, whether crops, livestock or livestock products (like eggs and wool), it is important to have the soil in balance, where all the minerals in the soil are available to the plant in the correct ratios, and not just the major nutrients - NPK. Plants that grow from a balanced soil will be healthier, and these plants better for any animals that may consume them. There is a saying "we are what we eat", likewise for animals; if an animal is eating grass on one soil/farm, this will be the only source of all it's nutrients, therefore this food must be balanced for the animal to grow properly and to be healthy. If the food is slightly imbalanced, the animal, (or vegetable or crop) will be slightly imbalanced, and may not taste as good as if it were grown on a balanced soil. We believe the taste of our eggs (and we have heard people say they are the best they have had) is all because of the effort we have put into balancing our soils, so the wheat, oats and beans we harvest on the farm is 'balanced' to feed to our chickens, as well as the grass that grows on the hens' range.

The standard soil test in this country just measures the amount of potassium, phosphate and magnesium in the soil and its pH (acidity) by grinding the soil up and measuring the full amount of the chemicals in the sample; then we are told to add lime to get the pH up to 6.5 to 7.0 (the ideal pH for most plants). On Cornhill Farm we use a soil analysis that measures the active chemicals called cations in the soil (also called the exchange capacity). These are the actual molecules that the plant roots can physically take up and use; therefore it is what is available to the plant. In addition to the major plant nutrients mentioned above, we also measure the iron, manganese, boron, copper, zinc, sodium and molybdenum. All these need to be available to the plant in certain quantities and ratios, ie: the ideal calcium to magnesium ratio is 68% to 12% respectively of the total exchange capacity of the soil. When any of these molecules are out of balance in the soil, the plant cannot totally override the imbalance and growth will be impaired, and the makeup of the subsequent plant will not be normal. Any animal (or person) eating that crop will also be eating an unbalanced food and depending on what else it has available to eat may cause a deficiency to that consumer.

If the soil is balanced, the grass that grows will be the best, and the animals that grazes the grass will be healthier, and less prone to disease. Also the by products from them ie: meat and eggs, will be better quality as well as taste better. This is the reason why we think our eggs taste so good.