What is eco-farming and how does it affect me?

Eco-farming is the process of farming the soil in an environmentally safe and organic way.

Ewan Campbell has spent 10 years developing a system for soil management, after purchasing Cambrian Estate and turning an almost unproductive farm into lush, nutrient rich soil. It involves testing the unique soil composition (which occurs on each farm) and then applying the organic Probitas method to treat each farm and get the best out of its soil.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention. Cambrian is the Child of Necessity.

Farmers feed the world, yet farmers are actually being farmed far more effectively than they farm themselves. Chemical and fertiliser companies effectively farm the farmer with a myriad of so called 'necessities' when the reality is we all pay.
There are hundreds of chemicals used in the agricultural world. A good example is DDT - it has a physical half life of 43 years and is well known to disrupt biological activity and nutrient availability in the soil, hence the requirement to apply more fertiliser.
In animals and humans these toxins lodge in the liver and connective tissue where they have the same function as in the soil, decreasing nutrient availability to the body.
To farm without chemicals and synthetic fertilisers you need to be a weatherman, soil scientist, artist and nutritionist with a lot of persistence.

Just consider how important this job really is?

The reality is the farmer is one of the most important people on earth, as it is the farmer who produces the food that nurtures the nation's nutrition and health. Yet this also can be the reverse.
To produce just one cattle beast it consumes approximately twelve tons of feed. The feed that is consumed is condensed into the animal. If the feed is good the result is amazing, yet if it is bad the cumulative toxins build up in the animal to be carried to the consumer.
Ewan Campbell is well aware of all these issues and puts huge demands on himself to be a farmer

Why is it different to normal farming methods?

Normal farming methods focus on adding large doses of highly concentrated 'fertilisers' to the soil with the aim to simply increase the growth rates of the pasture. The Probitas method is different because it focuses on a natural pasture management to get a diverse range of grasses in the pasture, to provide a balanced animal diet rich in vitamins, minerals and plant fats, essential for animal health. The result? Healthy pasture without the need for chemical fats or weed sprayers; healthy livestock without the need for chemical health remedies; delicious Cambrian beef products that are more tasty and tender, very low in fat and very high in essential Omega 3 fatty acids. See our Probitas website for mote details on the system we developed to grow organically -
www.probitas-systems.co.nz.

We are what we eat

The best thing you can do for yourself is eat the best quality food. You will look better, feel better and will have a better quality of life. Cambrian believes in this which is why they ensure that their stock is only fed pasture products from Cambrian Estate farms. With eco-farming making the soil high in useful nutrients, the pasture that grows is higher in nutrients, which means that the stock grazing on the grass is eating the best food possible, which means that when we eat the meat from the Cambrian store we too are getting the best nutrients possible. This is why eating Cambrian meat is so good for you.