"I began to wonder who I was working for." In 1984, David Ling of Fair Acres Farm in North Winsloe, took a long hard look at his farming operation. Although his barley was repeatedly winning Island competitions, he found he was spending more and more money each year on fertilizer to maintain the quality and quantity of his crops. He also noticed the quality of his soil was dropping. "I was spending sixty-five dollars an acre on fertilizer," says Ling. "I began to wonder what was happening. There's no point in growing a crop if it costs you too much." Photo: Fair Acres Farm in North Milton, PEI. Rows of manure composting behind the barn. At the same time Ling was having conversations with an organic grower whose barley was coming very close in the competitions. He found out it was costing his new competitor considerably less to grow his crop. After attending a seminar in Ontario on organic crop growing and finding out what could be done he came home and switched over the next year. "In 1985, I changed completely over. I saw my yields drop twenty-five to thirty percent," says Ling. "It was two to three years before we saw an increase in our yields." It can take eight to ten years to detoxify the soil and have lots of humus in it. Today he is harvesting about a ton and a half of grain, which he says is an average yield for anyone. Photo: Ling's forage blend Ling grows thirty-five acres of cereal crops and maintains fifty head of cattle and thirty-five to forty pigs. He grows a cereal blend of Century Peas, Gary Oats, and Charlottetown 80 Barley. All these varieties are old and do well when there's lots of biological activity in the soil. He also grows alfalfa for forage, and a blend of Acadia and Selkirk Wheat. Each fall after the harvest, Ling uses his chisel plow and barely cuts the surface about one half to an inch deep. He goes one way and then reverses it. He leaves the field for a few days and then he goes in with a three inch twisted shovel to cultivate any seed that may have dropped to allow it to grow and create a winter cover. Photo: Composting Manure Compost is applied before using the twisted shovel compost is made by piling the manure about eight to nine feet wide, one hundred and fifty feet long and a foot and a half deep. As the pile settles it generates heat and composts down. The heat means it never freezes allowing him to make up to four layers of the compost. He also applies twelve hundred to fifteen hundred pounds of lime every three years giving his soil a pH level of about six and a half percent. Ling doesn't apply his compost in the spring anymore as it just encourages weeds. Prior to going organic, Ling used to be out on the soil as early as it could be worked but now he waits until its warm to avoid soil compaction. "I go over it with a triple K harrower once, leave the field for a few days then cultivate and plant," he says. "I usually don't plant before the end of May now." The end result of his efforts means he is virtually weed and pest free, the soil is much richer and biologically active and a lot looser and less compacted, and because his crops are able to put down stable and extensive root systems there is very little winter kill. Photo: David Ling proudly displays his rich soil Photo: Very few weeds in David Ling's grain crop Much cheaper -- Ling spends no money on fertilizer any more, less on fuel to run his machinery, and doesn't need to buy high-powered tractors to try to break a compacted field. Weed and Pest Free -- a healthy and biologically balanced soil doesn't give weeds and pests a chance to grow and develop.

Some photos and technical information courtesy of the P.E.I. Department of Agriculture and Forestry