Konkuk University, Seoul · October 5–7, 2016

Natural Science Farming Symposium 2016

A day of talks in Seoul, then two days on the farms. 23 talks, three languages. Master Cho's students from ten countries showed what natural farming did on their fields, from Afghan potatoes to Hawaiian macadamias. Every talk is translated, checked line by line, and boiled down to what was tested and what happened.

Read what it all adds up to →

Also on the record: Hilo 2015

Topics microbes soil economics pigs poultry rice history corn food scale disease feed health minerals protectors reproduction Clear

4 talks on “health”

Lee Eun-ha ·South Korea ·13 min Spoken in Korean

They Called It Crazy to Feed Chickens Soil Microbes

A Korean missionary tells how he learned natural farming from Master Cho, failed for two or three years in the Philippines, and was called crazy for culturing feed for chickens and pigs with soil microbes. He shows two feed systems: green feed his team can now make the same way all year, and a layered, fermented corn feed with lactic acid bacteria and Microbes (IMO). He gave no numbers. A trial of feed ratios for hens and eggs was still running, with data being prepared.

Found The natural farming method did better than the local method in his side-by-side test

feed health microbes pigs poultry protectors

Cho Kyung-hoon ·South Korea ·17 min Spoken in Korean

One Korean County Took Natural Farming Rice From 23 to 200 ha

A county extension officer from Gokseong tells how his office moved from organic farming that failed to natural farming under Master Cho, starting in 2009. Natural farming rice in the county grew from 23 ha in 2009 to 200 ha in 2015–2016, with 250 ha expected next. The rest is a photo tour of crops and livestock with field stories, spoken figures and few controlled comparisons.

Found Natural farming rice grew from 23 ha in 2009 to 200 ha in 2015 and 2016

economics health horticulture pigs poultry rice

Jegatheesary Gunasingam ·Sri Lanka ·20 min

Sri Lanka: Classes Alone Failed, Small Groups Worked

A World Vision Sri Lanka staff member reports on a 2013–2015 project, funded by World Vision Korea and KOICA, that brought natural farming (which she calls 'neo-organic') to 600 farm families in Vaharai, a war-affected coastal division. After a year of training only a handful of farmers had taken it up; small groups, close follow-up and training the government agriculture instructors turned it around. The final evaluation shows wide use of homemade fertilizers and pesticides, more home gardens and water access, and weekly chemical-free vegetable markets, but no yields, costs or incomes.

Found After one year of training, only a few farmers had adopted; both transcripts heard 'only two'

economics health microbes soil training vegetables

David Wong ·United States (Hawaiʻi) ·21 min

No Antibiotics, No Vaccines: A Pig Farmer on Food and Health

A Hawaiʻi pig farmer who started with nine piglets in 2012 says his farm uses no antibiotics, vaccines, hormones or steroids and came through two local disease outbreaks without trouble. He then argues, with news clippings and US disease graphs, that drugs in livestock and chemicals in food harm human health, and closes by telling the room he has cancer and is treating it with food alone.

Found Pigs raised since 2012 with no antibiotics, vaccines, hormones or steroids, 'doing quite well'

antibiotics disease health history livestock pigs