Korean natural farming

Korean Natural Farming (KNF) takes advantage of indigenous microorganisms (IMO) (bacteria, fungi, nematodes and protozoa) to produce fertile soils that yield high output without the use of herbicides or pesticides. A result is improvement in soil health, improving loaminess, tilth and structure, and attracting large numbers of earthworms. KNF also enables odor-free hog and poultry farming without the need to dispose of effluent. This practice has spread to over 30 countries, and is used by individuals and commercial farms. Korean Natural Farming (KNF) takes advantage of indigenous microorganisms (IMO) (bacteria, fungi, nematodes and protozoa) to produce fertile soils that yield high output without the use of herbicides or pesticides. A result is improvement in soil health, improving loaminess, tilth and structure, and attracting large numbers of earthworms. KNF also enables odor-free hog and poultry farming without the need to dispose of effluent. This practice has spread to over 30 countries, and is used by individuals and commercial farms. Cho Han Kyu, or Cho Han-kyu, born in 1935 in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Korea, invented the Korean Natural Farming method. Cho completed high school education at the age of twenty-nine, while he worked on his family's farm. In 1965, he went to Japan as an agriculture research student for three years, and studied the natural farming method of three teachers: Miyozo Yamagishi (Japanese: 山岸 巳代蔵), Kinshi Shibata (柴田 欣志) and Yasushi Oinoue (大井上 康). Upon his return to Korea, Cho combined his newly acquired knowledge with the Korean traditional farming method and fermentation methods, used in such Korean food such as Kimchi, and gradually invented what we now call Korean Natural Farming, putting it into practice by setting up a 'Labor-Saving Abundant Harvesting Study Group' in 1966. As he gained more practice, he opened the Natural Farming Life School and Research Farm in Goesan County, North Chungcheong Province, in 1995. Cho's international activities had started early by means of his contribution to the magazines and seminars abroad. From 1992, he contributed 21-part articles in the 'Modern Agriculture' magazine (Japanese: 現代農業) published in Japan, and, in 1995, held a large-scale one-week seminar in Japan for the leaders of the all-powerful Central Association of the Agricultural Cooperatives of Japan (農業協同組合中央会). Cho, together with his son, Cho Yongsang, has since held seminars in various countries of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe. As of 2014, they have trained over 18,000 people at the Janong Natural Farming Institute. Hoon Park brought KNF to Hawaii from South Korea where, as a missionary, he noticed KNF commercial piggeries with virtually no odor.