Gaining Ground: Making a Successful Transition to Organic Farming

A project of the Canadian Organic Growers.

The Gaining Ground handbook is an invaluable tool for all farmers interested in organic farming, whether conventional, transitional or organic. The book covers all bases – from soil-building and planting to certification and marketing, revealing an approach that is much more than simply farming without chemicals. Based on interviews with over 80 of Canada’s organic or transitional farmers across the country, this book provides valuable, practical advice, and connects you to a national network of organic farmers, the next best thing to having an organic farmer next door. Farmer wisdom is supplemented with a wealth of scientific information from around the globe.

The key tools of organic farming, like a weed and pest management, crop rotations and green manures, composting and equipment are addressed. In addition, it discusses the difficult shift in thinking from an input-output approach to an integrated, whole-system approach based on ecological principles. The handbook includes an extensive list of resources for further reading.