“The [Sustainable Agriculture Strategy] is and can be a big opportunity, and organic and regenerative have a lot to offer,” said Katie Fettes, COG’s director of policy and research, in an online presentation yesterday.

The federal strategy, announced in late 2022, is touted as positioning Canada to be a world leader in sustainability.

COG is a member of the strategy’s advisory committee, along with multiple producer groups, conservation groups, and the Manitoba Metis Federation, which Fettes said has coordinated Indigenous community engagement.

Following public consultation, the federal government published a ‘What We Heard’ report late last year.

Fettes said the strategy is forming around six principles: supporting productivity (i.e. economics and profitability), forward thinking, respecting regionality, integration and collaboration, inclusivity (e.g. recognition of Indigenous groups’ interests, the diversity of farmers across operational scales, demographics, etc.), and basis in evidence.

COG and its partners in the organic sector have been making the case that organic producers can fulfill some of the goals of the strategy, Fettes said.

For instance, while ecological practices aren’t exclusive to organic farming, organic farms often “can’t do without them,” she said.

The sector’s third-party verified system also has built-in incentives to help maintain those ecological practices.

“We don’t just want to see uptake of practices. We also want to see them maintained and built upon,” Fettes said.

Other key messages have included the need for the strategy to include multiple pathways for a diverse Canadian agricultural sector; that systems-based approaches like organic are complementary to the strategy; and that the demand for organic food is outpacing the Canadian supply.

Ahead of the next meeting to discuss the strategy, COG is asking for producer feedback via a survey on their website. The deadline for that survey is June 7.

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The three-year project is funded by SaskOrganics, the Prairie Organics Development Fund, and will be conducted by organics researcher Martin Entz at the University of Manitoba.

“We want to help farmers understand how soil health interventions that they may be interested in and are employing on their organic farms actually affect the soil health and the productivity of their systems,” Entz said.

To be eligible, farms must either be certified organic or transitioning to organic and must be implementing some sort of soil best management practice on their farm—e.g. a new cover crop. While the study is spearheaded by Prairie groups, farmers across Canada can apply, Entz said.

Farmers will be guided to send in soil and biomass samples from the area on which the management practice is applied, and from untouched soil. Samples will be lab tested, either at the University of Manitoba or other participating labs, Entz said. The farmers will then be sent reports of the results.

There is no charge for participation.

While the goal is to provide benchmarks for individual farms, Entz added, the tests will add data to their pool of knowledge and may reveal patterns.

Interested farmers should contact SaskOrganics at admin@saskorganic.com.

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“Commodities, in general, have traded sideways to slightly lower over the last year, year-and-a-half,” said Kelly Cornelius, grain procurement specialist for Grain Millers in Yorkton, Sask. “Likely we’ll see a bit of a bump in pea production … I don’t expect to lose oat acres. If anything, we’re looking to gain. But there’s still a lot of time to shift acres.”

He added that conditions are dry in Saskatchewan, especially in the western half of the province. However, major snowfalls over the course of the winter have helped to replenish moisture levels in the southeast.

Ken Richmond, a farmer from St. Andrews, Man. and procurement manager for Regina-based O&T Farms, said some areas in southern Manitoba are in better shape than they were in February. He said growers have plenty to consider due to less demand, conventional price declines from last year and elevated equipment and fuel costs.

“Income is going to be lower. There’s no doubt about it,” Richmond added. “Some farmers are still thinking about C$70 to C$80 (per bushel organic flax prices) from last year. That’s not going to happen. Especially with the outlook on the moisture a little bit better now. I think we’re stuck in a zone now where (prices) are going to stay.”

Jason Breault of RW Organics in Mossbank, Sask. heard about potential seeding for spring wheat, oats and barley. However, slow demand and grain supplies augmented by imports are causing some buyers to look ahead all the way to January 2025. Despite this, Breault believes weather will become a catalyst.

“If it stays dry, (buyers) will probably want a little more (grain) if they’re worried about drought. If we get some moisture, people will back off again,” he said.

As dry conditions persist, Organic Council of Ontario director-at-large Rob Wallbridge said there is still time for much-needed moisture heading into seeding. But while commodity markets stay quiet, growers may choose the familiar.

“We’ll probably see more spring cereals and peas planted than normal, especially if the dry weather holds. But without any clear signals from the market, most farmers will stick with their traditional rotation,” he said.

Harro Wehrmann of Wehrmann Grain and Seeds in Ripley, Ont. repeated Wallbridge’s sentiment. He said most winter grains survived cool temperatures during the month of March, but he doesn’t expect the local organic market to pick up activity until May at the earliest.

“Buyers are just going to wait and see what the mood of the consumer is,” Wehrmann said. “I reckon that feed grains will see hand-to-mouth buying … For specialty crops, I think bids will start coming in as consumption patterns become evident and companies are going to want to secure supply.”

The Prairie provincial organics organizations held their respective annual general meetings near the end of the month.

The Manitoba Organic Alliance held its 2024 AGM in Portage la Prairie on March 20, where the organization voted to change its name to Manitoba Organics. Executive director Marika Dewar-Norosky said the new name will also go along with changes to its website and logo.

“It aims to enhance clarity, branding, and recognition, making communication easier,” she said. “Additionally, aligning our name with similar organizations (SaskOrganics and Organic Alberta) helps to create consistency and unity within the organic community across Western Canada.”

Organic Alberta had its AGM done virtually, also on March 20. The organization will co-host the 2024 La Crete Organic Farming Conference and Trade Show at the La Crete Heritage Centre on April 11.

SaskOrganics’ AGM coincided with the Advancing Organics and Trade Show on March 27 and 28 in Saskatoon. The event included 30 exhibitors as well as more than a dozen sessions featuring speakers across the Prairies with expertise in various topics including brewing, weed management and mental health. A scholarship and awards banquet also took place.

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That’s considered an unrealistic target for Canada, considering only three per cent of farmland is currently in organic production.

As a result, organic leaders are proposing a different number.

“We’ve bounced around the idea of 10 per cent. It’s sort of an arbitrary number, based on the growth we’ve seen over the last decade,” said Karen Murchison, executive director of Canadian Organic Growers (COG).

“I think we’re looking at 10 per cent by 2030 or 2035.”

That is not an official number, and COG hasn’t made a request to the federal government for a 10 per cent mandate across the country.

However, it has partnered with the Canadian Organic Trade Association and the Organic Federation of Canada to develop an Organic Action Plan.

Recommendation 1.1 in the plan is setting “national targets for organic growth,” including farm area and the number of farmers.

The three organic groups launched the action plan last fall at a summit in Ottawa.

In a document summarizing the plan, they argue it can help the government meet its policy objectives while “safeguarding our soils, waterways, climate and food supply.”

“It is a pivotal time for Canada to recognize the organic sector as the government strives to meet its economic, environmental and social sustainability and climate goals,” said Tia Loftsgard, executive director of the Canada Organic Trade Association.

Last fall, representatives of the organic groups met with politicians to promote the action plan. They will continue to lobby policymakers in 2024.

Murchison said the groups developed the action plan with the help of a consultant from Denmark, Paul Holmbeck.

The plan is necessary because Canada needs to stay competitive with other parts of the world on organic production, Murchison said from her home office on Prince Edward Island.

“We’re far behind the U.S. in terms of policy tools and public investment (in organic) … We’re even falling behind the global south,” she said.

“Those countries are starting to develop organic action plans … to establish more resilient and reliable food supplies.”

The Canadian Organic Action Plan clearly borrows some ideas from the European model.

One is a procurement plan, in which publicly funded institutions are required to buy organic food.

“Include national goals for 60 per cent organic in public sector kitchens … and transition to more plant-based organic meals,” the Canadian plan says.

That sort of procurement requirement could help farmers who are transitioning to organic, Murchison said.

“It’s the easiest and most reliable market channel for those farms in transition,” she said

“It’s low hanging fruit. It’s an absolute, guaranteed market.”

Murchison clarified that a potential target of 10 per cent organic acreage is a work in progress.

In early January, COG helped create a task force of industry experts, farmers and scientists to look at the production target in more detail.

“So we’re not picking 10 per cent out of the air. But we’re really looking at what can our farms and farmers reasonably achieve, over this seven- to 10-year timeline,” Murchison said.

The proposal notes the need to “(identify) the supports and policies that are necessary to achieve those targets.”

One of those supports is more agronomic information and help for organic farmers.

The industry needs experts who can provide the needed extension so producers new to organic can succeed.

“There are thousands of consulting agronomists across the country … very few of them have the knowledge to advise and bring expertise to farms (with) this systems-based approach to food production versus the input-based approach,” Murchison said.

“Without those supports, those transitions (to organic) will fail.”

Persuading the federal government to adopt an organic action plan and possibly an acreage target will not happen overnight.

Government and public policy moves at a glacial pace.

However, an organic production mandate could be part of the next Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP), a federal and provincial funding agreement.

The next SCAP is scheduled to begin in 2028.

“The reality is we would probably see an organic action plan that would be connected to the next policy framework,” Murchison said, adding she’s optimistic about the possibility.

“We’re seeing interest both at the government level, but certainly on the ground. Conventional farmers are starting to look at what organic farmers are doing. How are they growing crops without all these inputs? How can I reduce my input costs … by implementing some of those practices?”

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“There’s people coming in and there’s people going out,” said Tia Loftsgard, executive director of the Canadian Organic Trade Association (COTA).

Loftsgard presented COTA’s 2022 organic industry statistics in a webinar on Oct. 20. COTA collects and analyzes data from several industry sources to get a picture of the sector.

In 2022, there were 7702 organic operators, down from 7998 the previous year, said Loftsgard, including 33 fewer farms. This is the first time they’ve seen a decline in operators, she added.

However, the total is still above 2020 numbers of 7624 operators. There were seven fewer organic livestock farmers in 2022 than in 2021, she said. This continues a downward trend, which Loftsgard said they’d need to investigate and address.

That said, total organic acreage was up to 3.8 million acres, from 3.1 million acres in 2021 though down from the 2020 high of just over 4 million acres.

Forty per cent of these acres were forage, green manure and natural areas; 26 per cent was field crops, 20 per cent fruits and vegetables, with the rest in aquaculture plants, maple, and wild harvest.

Wheat and oats were the main organic cereals grown, with just over 311,000 acres and just over 281,000 acres respectively. Producers also grew more than 54,000 acres of corn. Organic pulses were largely split between lentils, with nearly 40,600 acres; chickpeas, with nearly 41,500 acres, and peas, with nearly 31,000 acres. Nearly 108,000 acres of organic soybeans were grown in 2022, with flax trailing at over 52,000 acres grown, and more than 15,000 acres of mustard.

The vast majority of organic livestock was poultry, with about 4.3 million head. Pigs were a distant second with around 293,000 animals, and about 39,000 cattle and other bovine animals.

Total organic sales in 2022 was $10.26 billion, with $7.94 billion in food and beverage sales, up from $9.35 billion in sales in 2021 and $7.24 billion in food and beverage sales.

—Geralyn Wichers writes for Glacier Farmmedia from Steinbach, Manitoba.

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Since 2011, plant-breeding researchers have collaborated with organic farmers in a breeding program in which the producers select lines from trials on their own farms.

Normally, a breeder goes through a plot, and selects the best spikes, heads or plants according to their breeding goals.

“The participatory plant-breeding program is different in that instead of getting a breeder to make those selections, we get organic farmers to make the selection,” Michelle Carkner, participatory plant-breeding co-ordinator at the University of Manitoba, said during a recent plot tour at the University of Alberta.

The project started in Manitoba, and has since spread across the country.

Farmers started with early-generation wheat seeds, planted them on their land, and then selected 400 of their best spikes and sent them back to the University of Manitoba. The staff cleaned them, and returned them. Farmers planted them again, and sent more selections back to the university, for three years in total.

In 2013, the group expanded the program to include oats and potatoes along with wheat (although the potato program proved short lived).

To date, researchers have worked with more than 80 farmers across Canada, from Vancouver Island to Prince Edward Island.

Put to the test

Many of the current oat lines growing in the U of A research trials are farmer-selected populations. This proves farmer-selected populations can do well, and can meet requirements for breeding, said Carkner.

“If they do well, they can move into the Western Co-op trials and become a variety,” she said.

The wheat populations now growing in the test plot at the university’s south campus farm were selected for three years from various farmers and are now being compared against registered wheat checks such as Glenn, Vesper, AAC Tenacious and AAC Tradition.

Tradition is the first wheat variety registered that was selected and grown under organic farming requirements.

The wheat populations will be selected for three years, and will be compared against registered checks in the trial.

Ward Middleton, an organic grain and oilseed producer from Morinville, participated in the breeding program from 2012-15, and populations he selected are being tested — along with other farmer-selected ones from across the country — at the university.

“Philosophically, it was a good fit,” said Middleton, before adding, “It might not be a good fit for the farmer, because the research crop was secondary to my primary crop.”

That’s because the business of growing grain came first — with the research crops being planted a few days after his primary crops went into the ground.

“An actual researcher would probably be a little more disciplined in their regimen,” said Middleton. “I would tell myself that maybe I’m going to select for what produces the best in a short growing season. Even though I liked the concept of the program, I felt I wasn’t doing a good enough job.”

Choosing the criteria

But he appreciated the opportunity to select for traits that he most wanted.

For example, Middleton didn’t select the wheat spikes based on whether or not they had awns.

“I was just looking for what is giving me the most seeds in the head, as well as what will produce a head if it had weed pressure,” he said.

And that meant no babying — instead of trying to protect the populations from weeds, he grew wheat in high weed areas. Middleton also only pulled seed heads off whatever set seeds in an area where there was high competition.

“I always felt like I didn’t know if that was scientific enough,” he said. “It’s nice to hear that some of these trials performed well in comparison.”

He later learned he had selected populations with awns and without awns — although four years on, he figures he might have made different selections as deer eat the awnless populations and leave awned populations. On the other hand, awnless has its merits, too.

“Last fall, it was an early winter and it snowed a nice, wet, heavy snow and the awned varieties acted like a tennis racket and filled with snow and they keeled over. The awnless varieties have a smaller profile and when the snow comes on them, it doesn’t kink them over. In the view of an unstable jet stream with climate change, maybe I should be moving to the awnless varieties.”

He saw his role in the breeding program as helping researchers achieve the geographic diversity they are looking for in the selection process, as well as offering a different opinion and mindset.

He picked populations with traits that he thought might work, and these populations might be crossed in the future.

“I’m building the inventory of a seed bank for future resources,” he said. “If anybody is considering participating, I got as much value out of it for me, and the way I think as a farmer about the plants and selecting plants and using that as a bit of a service that I can offer to a downstream customer.”

Any organic grower who is interested in the program can contact Carkner at michelle.carkner@umanitoba.ca.

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The latest report, the fifth annual, puts the number of certified organic operations on the Prairies at 1,975 in 2018 (compared to 1,840 in 2017). And for the first time, land used for organic field crop production exceeded that used for livestock forage, green manures, wild crafting, and ecological acres, the association said.

Collectively, Prairie organic food and beverage markets are valued at over $850 million while the Prairies account for 27 per cent of organic operations in the country.

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Gerjan Snippe, managing director of Bio Brass, doesn’t wear his grey woolly goat socks anymore, but he carries them in his back pocket. They’re a reminder of why he got into organics in the first place — to produce affordable organic vegetables while making a profit, too.

“We brought our business to a different level,” said Snippe, who grows and markets organic vegetables in the central Netherlands. “The way we farm is the way we’re going to feed the world in the future.”

Snippe grew up on a dairy farm, but after deciding he didn’t like milking cows, he went to university to study agribusiness and then got involved in organic trading — a relatively new industry in the Netherlands at the time.

“In 1997, organics wasn’t nearly as popular as it is now, but what I discovered was that there was demand for this product,” he said.

So along with two of his brothers — one who liked milking cows, and another who grew arable crops — Snippe converted the family farm to a mixed organic operation.

In 2005, the brothers realized they needed to scale up if they wanted to remain competitive, especially on the fresh produce side. So they invited two other farmers to join them and created Bio Brass (named for the brassica crops they specialized in).

Their partnership is an unusual one. Instead of each farmer growing a wide variety of crops (the norm in organic vegetable farming), each has a different task. One may look after cauliflower and broccoli; another, the onions and potatoes. And every year, they rotate the crops from farm to farm. That way, they’re able to be more focused — and efficient.

“We started sharing our land,” said Snippe. “Someone else is using my land, and I’m using someone else’s land. And that’s not so easy. It takes a lot of trust.

“It’s a different way of farming, but it’s helped us to grow to a different level.”

Driving down costs

Through this unusual collaboration across 2,000 hectares, Snippe and his partners have been able to grow both Bio Brass’s operations and market share in the Netherlands, Germany, the U.K., and Scandinavia over the past decade.

And as their business grew, so too did their ability to connect directly with their customers.

“Once you have more volume, you’re able to skip the traders and get in contact with retailers yourself, and for us, that was very important,” said Snippe. “What we’re doing isn’t about organics. It’s mainly about connecting — seeing how we can build something new together to create value.”

The Bio Brass team got in touch with Tesco, a major retailer in the U.K. that wanted to position organics differently by making the price point a little more “realistic.”

“In the past, organics were quite expensive because we weren’t so efficient,” said Snippe. “But all of a sudden, they sold 40 per cent more organic produce because they offered it in a different way.”

And because of the volumes the partnership produced, Bio Brass was able to reinvest in the business and improve handling, packaging, and logistics.

“We started doing more and more of the processing of the products on the farms, which creates more value on the farms rather than having someone else in the supply chain making money out of our products,” said Snippe.

It not only shortened their supply chain, but reduced spoilage and cut costs by 60 to 70 per cent.

“It was an eye-opener — organic doesn’t need to be so expensive,” said Snippe. “Theoretically, we should be cheaper than conventional. We don’t have to put in chemicals or fertilizers. There’s still a good income to be made in organics.”

Own the story

But for Snippe, this success required a shift in mindset — from ‘fork to farm,’ rather than from ‘farm to fork.’

“As a farmer, you have to think from the shelf back to the farm, instead of from the farm to the shelf,” he said. “It’s more about thinking about who we’re producing the food for and how we can link that back to our farming practices.”

A key part of that is creating a connection with consumers, he added. Bio Brass has built a $30,000 visitor centre offering locally grown produce and farm-fresh meals. It’s important that people understand the difference between organic and conventional production, he said.

“Farmers have a big asset — an asset that we’ve really underestimated so far. That’s our story,” he said. “Consumers want to know where their food is coming from. They want to know who is behind it. Traders or retailers don’t have that story. We own that story as farmers.”

Because of that connection, Snippe allows customer demand to drive his supply in a much more tangible way, becoming a price-maker, not a price-taker.

“I refuse to sell below the cost price of my product,” he said. “If I don’t make a return on a product for two years, I’m out.”

Snippe said he hopes his philosophy on efficient organic production will help create a sea change in the industry — shaping an organic sector where price isn’t a barrier for retail shoppers and where quality counts for more than the organic label.

“People don’t so much look at the price anymore. They don’t so much look at the word organic anymore. They’re just buying it because it looks nice,” he said.

“So the farmer’s happy. The retailer’s happy. But most importantly, the consumer is happy.”

This article first appeared on OrganicBiz.

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“We need more organic and we need to make sure that we don’t only have a few farms taking some of the supply market share,” said Jonathan Ntoni, a policy analyst with Alberta Milk.

Currently, there are just six licensed organic dairy farms in the province.

“We will reduce our risk in case one of the farms loses certification or something like that. We just want to spread the risk,” said Ntoni. “The demand for sure has gone up, and that is why we need more supply.”

The new Organic Entrants Assistance Program is similar to one created for conventional producers in 2011.

Applicants must be Alberta residents (for at least a year) and cannot have “owned a dairy farm at any location, at any time.” They need to submit a detailed two-year business plan, including projected cash flow statements, and a 10-year plan setting out long-term targets.

If chosen, they can borrow three kilograms of quota for every one they buy, up to a maximum of 25 kilograms of quota.

Since it takes up to three years to transition to organic, the new entrants will receive a premium of 10 cents per litre during that period. Their ‘loaned quota’ will be progressively reduced during their second decade in the milk business.

“I think it’s an excellent program and I hope young farmers will benefit from it,” said organic dairy producer Joe Mans, who operates Vital Greens Farm near Picture Butte with wife Caroline and their family.

But while the program lowers the cost barrier, applicants are going to need a strong financial base.

“It’s still not easy because it costs a lot of money,” said Mans, who also processes milk on his farm.

The latest figures from Alberta Milk show quota was selling just above $38,000 per kilogram in March.

Organic producers also have extra costs. They must be certified by a recognized agency; submit the paperwork to prove it every year; ensure their pastures haven’t been sprayed with chemicals for at least 36 months; and give their cows only organically grown feed. The cows can be given antibiotics, but only once in their lifetime.

“If you give antibiotics then the withdrawal is twice from what is on the bottle or 30 days in order to clean the cow out again,” said Mans, who has operated his organic dairy for 13 years, and now milks 60 cows.

Organic cows produce less milk, but also have lower levels of mastitis. The cows must be kept on pasture after they are over six months old. About 40 per cent of their dry matter forage must come from pasture.

Last year, about 79 million hectolitres* of organic milk were produced annually in Alberta.

“Our utilization rate for the milk we pick up for organic is 85 per cent, which means that 85 per cent of that milk is organic and the rest goes to the conventional pool,” said Ntoni.

“We always want to ensure that we have an adequate supply of milk so that the organic processors are not short.”

Quebecers are the biggest consumers of organic milk, with production topping 470,000 hectolitres annually. Ontario and B.C. (roughly 320,000 hectolitres) account for almost all of the rest of Canadian production (1.2 million hectolitres in 2016-17, according to the most recent federal stats).

Alberta is the biggest in the remaining pack, with Manitoba counting only two producers and Nova Scotia just one among the country’s 232 organic milk farmers.

*UPDATE: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the number of hectolitres of milk produced in Alberta in 2017. We regret the error and apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

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“Right now, Mackenzie County has the highest number of organic farmers,” said Jacob Marfo, manager and research director of the Mackenzie Applied Research Association, (MARA).

And the region may soon have more.

MARA and Organic Alberta, with support from the county and a regional development initiative, have partnered on a two-year, $330,000 program that will help farmers diversify into organic production, and assist those who are already involved in organics.

“This training helps producers learn about issues related to agronomy and the environment,” said Marfo.

The initiative, which began in November and runs for two years, has several components.

“One major component is the transition of people who are now getting into organic agriculture,” said Marfo. “Every year, conventional farmers make the move to transition part or all of their fields to organic. There are issues that need to be worked on before you can move to the transition program or before you can become a certified organic farmer.”

The first workshop in the program, held last month, attracted 67 attendees. Some are already farming organically, others transitioning, and some are conventional farmers still considering a move to organic.

“There are some new guys from the oilfields who are coming, and some of them have moved into farming,” said Marfo. “Conventional farmers can also learn from the organic farmers in terms of minimum input use. They’re starting to do lots of soil tests so they can reduce their use or inputs.”

According to Statistics Canada, 90 per cent of the people in Mackenzie County work in agriculture or forestry, so it makes sense to focus this kind of effort in the region, he added.

More than half of Alberta’s organic producers live in the county.

“The global organic market is now estimated at just under $90 billion, and Mackenzie County farmers are working hard to fill that demand,” Organic Alberta executive director Becky Lipton said in a news release.

It’s also attractive financially for new entrants because the costs of inputs are lower and prices for organic grains are higher, noted Marfo.

Part of the project will include testing to see which varieties have higher yields, greater disease resistance to diseases in the region, and generate the highest, long-term economic returns, he said. The program will also include a marketing component, with an annual buyers’ mission to the region, which is a seven-hour drive north of Edmonton.

The organizers are also looking at creating a farm club, so members can get together to discuss issues and share ideas. The lineup for future workshops is still being developed by Organic Alberta and MARA. Organic Alberta will also be hiring a co-ordinator to lead the project.

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