Natural Intelligence Farming
Ian and Dianne Haggerty have a life mission - to facilitate positive global change by rebuilding soils in semi-arid regions, producing chemical free premium food and fibre, and supporting the nutritional needs of a healthier humanity.
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Ian and Dianne are the founders of Natural Intelligence Farming (NIF) - a holistic and integrated program of cropping and grazing.
The NIF system is underpinned by Ian & Dianne's deep commitment to the regeneration of the fertility of the marginal soils of their semi-arid farming landscapes, using natural fertilisers, minimum tillage and a loving relationship with the environment and animals.
Over the years, Ian and Dianne have developed their own Merino stud and a working sheep flock from local and South Australian bloodlines. This indigenous flock has been bred to be totally acclimatised to the land they farm. Their production area is now spread over several holdings equalling 13,000 hectares of their own property, leased land and share-farming enterprises. This diversity has enabled more effective management across various landscape conditions and rainfall availability.
The result is the growth of healthy cereal plants to deliver high yields of premium grain and world class quality lamb, mutton and wool.The success of their Natural Intelligence system has translated into a flourishing regenerated pastoral landscape and produce that is world class - an example for the rest of Australia to follow!
Key Benefits of the Natural Intelligence Farming system:
- Carbon sequestration while producing optimal food and fibre production.
- Increased biodiversity, particularly microbiological biodiversity in soil.
- Nil chemical residues tested in grains grown.
- Nutritional balance in foods grown
- Elimination use of synthetic fertilisers.
- Increased microbiome, the number and diversity of microorganisms in an ecosystem such as the digestive system.
- Production of 100% pasture fed meat that is high in omega-3, conjugated linoleic acid, vitamin E and has greater mineral diversity.
- Greater reliability in grain crop yields.
- Crop disease resistance resulting in eliminated use of fungicides and pesticides.
- Lower energy requirement for agricultural production.
Perth Organics is proud to support Ian & Dianne Haggerty, offering a range of their world-class holistically grown, chemical free produce.
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To find out more about the Natural Intelligence Farming system, click the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBGyPtY2JYw
In 2010 Ian and Di Haggerty were the recipients for the A&K Hill Green Agriculture Innovation Award, an award founded by Dr Christine Jones that recognises outstanding leadership in the adoption of farming practices that build carbon-rich top soils, foster secure and resilient agricultural production and improve food quality. In 2012 the Haggerty’s received the National Carbon Cocky Award for Industry Development awarded in Dubbo, New South Wales by Carbon Farmers of Australia. In 2015 the Haggerty’s received an inaugural Soil Restoration Leadership award, presented in Dongara, Western Australia by award patron Rhonda Wilson.
Natural Intelligence Farming is the term Ian and Dianne Haggerty use to describe the harnessing of the dynamic, natural relationships that exists between all the organisms in the ecosystem and the environment itself, particularly the soil. These relationships are highly complex and dynamic. They involve mutually beneficial interactions between the soil, plant seeds and roots, microorganisms, and the ruminants that feed on the plants and cycle dung and microbes back to the soil. Understanding these relationships requires a holistic engagement with the agricultural ecosystem and the body of scientific knowledge supporting this understanding is still incomplete. The key to natural intelligence farming is not to hinder or obstruct the interactions that support and inform these relationships. The Haggerty’s aim is to facilitate natural intelligence with modern farming methods to create regenerative agricultural ecosystems that produce optimal food and fibre products.
Ian and Dianne farm approximately 13,000 hectares of land in Western Australia’s central wheatbelt, around 190 kilometres north east of Perth. After years of conventional farming, the Haggerty’s realised that their system was vulnerable to dry seasons. Input costs were steadily increasing without corresponding increases in productivity. Soil tests showed adequate nutrient levels, but tissue tests revealed nutrients were not getting to plants in appropriate balance, despite a comprehensive mineral fertiliser program. To top it off, rainfall in recent years had been less than half the annual average often falling in 3 to 5 mm events followed by windy weather, meaning much was lost to evaporation. Maximising crop production in dry years had become a real struggle and hard pans in their soils were severely restricting root growth.
So, the Haggerty’s started to research biologically-based farming systems with the aim of increasing their soil’s microbial population, nutrient availability and moisture holding capacity. What followed was a successful fusion of some of the world’s best ecological knowledge with much ground truthing, using natural biological principles.
Click here to browse produce by Natural Intelligence Farming.