Organic farming is ...
• Minimal use of external, off-farm inputs coupled with the exclusion of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers as well as growth hormones and antibiotics for livestock
• A focus on renewable resources, soil and water conservation, and management practices that maintain and enhance ecological balance and improve soil quality as measured in structure or tilth, total soil organic matter and biological activity
• An increase of biodiversity both in the farm system itself and in the surrounding environment
• Use of cover crops and green manures in a crop rotation scheme that recycles nutrients, builds soil quality and disrupts pest cycles
• Use of allowed biological and mechanical controls for those problems not handled by the cultural systems above
And ...
"A production system that is managed in accordance with the [Organic Foods Production] Act ... to respond to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity."
~National Organic Program Standards, 2002
And ...
"Food grown without pesticides; grown without artificial fertilizers; grown in soil whose humus content is increased by the additions of organic matter; grown in soil whose mineral content is increased by the application of natural mineral fertilizers; has not been treated with preservatives, hormones, antibiotics, etc."
~Robert Rodale, 1972