Mr. Louis McAuley:

Deputy Jackie Cahill asked about water quality. The Chair, Deputy Deering, was with us when we did it. The improved water quality comes from increased levels of humus, a better soil structure and more roots and fibrous material in the soil holding the soil together. We did a soil infiltration test and a straight test. Deputy Deering saw it. Soil is taken out of a field under conservation agriculture and then from a neighbouring field operating under a traditional plough-based system. Both of those soils are put into a jar of water, a clear jar with some mesh on the top, and then we watch what happens. Within five to ten minutes, the soil from the ploughed system has all loosened away from itself, the water has become brown and at the bottom of that jar is a layer of the silt, small particles and fertilisers. That is all of the goodness and the trace elements that we need to grow the crops. If we look at the jar with the conservation of agriculture soil, it has stayed nearly completely intact. For me as a farmer that is what it is delivering. The structure and integrity of the soil is giving us all of the benefits.

The key principle is not to cultivate or disturb the soil. Once that is done, that is when things can happen. That is the first thing. Many things can go wrong after doing that but that is the first step. That is where we are getting the soil benefits and improved fertility, etc. It is so visual and so obvious - even from YouTube videos - that it has to be good. The more acres we can get to hold on to themselves like that is what is going to keep our rivers clean and help us meet our targets for quality. We are on heavier land than Mr. Greene and traditionally we have had problems with trafficability and being able to get machines on the land - particularly at harvest or spraying and fertilising at key times. The tram lines are too wet and we end up with big ruts. They are very visible this year with the bad weather. However, with conservation agriculture soil, it is like driving on an old hard pasture, a laid sward, and it carries machinery in a completely different way. That is a major factor that helps us to improve the soil.

Mr. Greene mentioned insecticides. All of those products are coming under increasing pressure from being banned and also from a resistance point of view. Even if we are allowed to use them, they are becoming ineffective because of overuse. One of the amazing things about this system of farming - and it is not 100% - is that, for something that does not cost anything and there is no technology involved, we are finding much less trouble with aphids generally. That is without any insecticides. If we have the same crop in the same field that is under conservation agriculture and the same beside it, generally we have far fewer problems with aphids. When a virus gets into a field it can be devastating for yield. It is nothing fancy.

It is amazingly simple and achieved by just leaving the soil intact. It is a mixture of leaving beneficial creatures to eat the aphids and nearly camouflaging a crop so that it tricks them. It is so simple and so natural but it is delivering something major. There is really no alternative coming to us. In conventional agriculture, a couple of companies may be going to come out with a new higher power insecticide. However, it is harder and harder to register new insecticides. That is perhaps proper order because they probably are doing harm. It is the natural principles. We look at organic and think "what is clever about that"? We are not saying we are trying to be organic. It is not about not being able to use anything. It is about finding a happy medium.

I always use one example. If someone comes to our farm and tells us we cannot use any chemicals, we are going to suffer badly in output and in the quality of the crop we grow. However, in this system, it is about optimising and looking and working slowly, by doing one thing. There will be progress and eventually we will get to a better place. Even if we never get to not using any chemicals, implementing this kind of farming on a wide area will have a massive impact. That is one thing we have gotten from the CAP and all the environmental schemes. The EU consumer needs impact. This type of farming can give the consumer that impact. It does not require a premium for its produce. It has the output of conventional farming with a much better benefit to the environment.

Mr. Greene has spoken of some very clever things. Most of what we have done and what we have found has been in our own time and at our own cost by just trying things. Some of these things do not work. If we could get some assistance and some funding the potential is massive. We have discovered what we have as farmers, on our farms, while maintaining our profits and leaving some percentage of our area to try things. The burden is very much on us to discover how to do all this stuff. If there was assistance with that, there would be-----