About us…

Agriton UK was established in 2004 after the success of Agriton Netherlands.

Everyone in agriculture knows that the Dutch lead the way when it comes to sustainable and environmentally friendly farming. This is largely due to their unique geographical situation with large parts of the country actually below sea level. This means any that soil health and fertiliser efficiency are of paramount importance to the farm, farmers and the wider environment.

Having seen the success of Actiferm, Bokashi, Aegir and Ostrea, it was clear that the same products could provide UK farmers benefits too. It was based on the positive reaction from the Dutch farming community that Agriton moved into the UK and Fran Box was the pioneer responsible for its introduction.

EM is a liquid mix of fungi, yeast, lactic acid bacteria, phototropic bacteria and actinobacteria. These microbes were identified and coined by Prof. Higa in 1982 as Effective Microorganisms (EM).

They are 100% naturally occurring and carefully chosen for their individual benefits as well as their ability to work together, synergistically. By populating an environment with Actiferm you suppress any harmful bacteria, viruses or pathogens. This process is called competitive exclusion.

EM-1, the original consortia of microbes put together by Prof Higa in 1982, is still used today! For all the information you could ever want on EM please visit www.EMROjapan.com

The seed of what was to become EM germinated when Dr. Higa was researching mandarin oranges for his doctorate in Horticulture at Kyushyu University Graduate School. It was there that he realised the potential of microorganisms in agriculture and this discovery took his research in a new direction.

In those days, orange farming relied heavily on agricultural chemicals. Dr. Higa was interested in microorganisms but advocated of the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides because, with his farming experience, he knew that farming was extremely labor intensive, especially the production of good compost.

That experience deeply influenced his thinking and he made microorganisms the main focus of his research. However, in those days it was common to work with only one type of microorganism at a time and there were many different types of microorganisms to test. His research generated no results of any significance even after five years of hard work.

After he returned to University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, he continued his research with safe and harmless microorganisms only. For this reason, he usually collected several strains all in the same bucket in order to dispose of them at the end of the day. One day, he felt it was such a waste to flush these strains down the drain, considering their costs, and decided to sprinkle them on a patch of grass instead. A week later, an obvious difference was noticed on the spot. The growth of grass was significantly better than the grass around the spot. As none of his students did experiments on that spot, he was certain that that mixture of several different types of microorganisms he sprinkled was the cause of the the difference. That was when he realized that the key was the combination of microbes.

After many trials and errors, Dr. Higa discovered an optimal mix in 1980 that promoted healthy plant growth and coined the name "EM" for that group.

His development of EM has brought him international recognition and now he provides guidance and assistance in the application and research of EM around the world.

One of the most fundamental beliefs in Dr. Higa’s philosophy is that “the essential condition for human happiness is the ability to do what one really loves, whatever that may be, throughout the course of one’s lifetime.” (P. 327, Teruo Higa, An Earth Saving Revolution)

At Agriton we do what we love.

The foundation of our business is the soil and the microorganisms living within. The soil is alive with weird and wonderful organisms and has a complexity that humans will likely never fully understand or appreciate. The soil, and the life within, are not only the foundations of our business, they are also the foundation of all humanity.

99.9% of the food we consume either came directly from the soil or is reliant upon it. We are what we eat and a healthy fertile soil will produce a healthy fertile people.

We love what we do. We are passionate about what we do and why we do it. We will know our job is done when there is no longer a need for us. We work hard everyday so that you don’t need us anymore!