“Selling genetically engineered seeds to home gardeners is reckless and could jeopardize our ability to provide customers with organic and other non-GE choices,” said Mel Sylvestre, an organic farmer from Gibsons, B.C., in a statement from the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN).

CBAN has been vocally critical against GMOs and gene editing in foods.

This August, U.S.-based Norfolk Healthy Produce received Health Canada’s approval to bring The Purple Tomato to Canada. The tomato has had traits from snapdragons added to its genetic makeup. This causes its deep purple colour and increases the amount of an antioxidant called anthocyanin.

Contamination fears

CBAN coordinator Lucy Sharrat said that as of Dec. 2, seeds for the purple tomato were listed in Norfolk’s online seed store but were marked as sold out. On Dec. 18, the seeds appeared to no longer be listed.

The fear is that if genetically modified produce is widely grown across Canada, this will raise the risk of contaminating other varieties. This is a problem for organic farmers, who cannot grow genetically-modified crops under the Canadian Organic Standards.

Organic groups have also said cross-contamination concerns could lessen the standards’ credibility and hamper export opportunities.

CBAN is calling for mandatory labelling of genetically-engineered seeds as is the Canadian Organic Trade Association.

“With no GE garden seeds previously on the market in Canada, gardeners may not expect these seeds to be GE and would not have clear indications that identify them as GE at the point of purchase,” said the association’s executive director Tia Loftsgard in a statement.

On its website, Norfolk Healthy Produce frequently calls its plants “bioengineered,” which is in keeping with U.S. labelling conventions according to a ‘frequently asked questions’ page. Its seeds are currently only for sale on its website, it said.

Seed sovereignty

CBAN said the introduction of genetically-engineered seeds could also threaten the ability of growers to save seeds and cultivate heritage varieties.

“Our customers want to buy the seeds we’ve nurtured on our farm, not patented seeds from corporate laboratories,” said Kim Delaney, founder of Hawthorn Farm Organic Seeds in Mount Forest, Ontario.

“We should reinforce our local seed systems and reject genetically engineered seeds from U.S. and multinational biotechnology companies. Canadian seed sovereignty should be a priority for all levels of government.”

“We don’t need or want genetic engineering in our gardens,” Delaney added. “We already have many good varieties of purple tomatoes.”

A group of 163 farmers signed a statement in opposition to the sale of genetically-engineered or gene-edited seeds to Canadian gardeners and small growers.

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Amendments to Alberta’s Agricultural Operation Practices Act (AOPA) now permit digestate and “select organic material” from non-agricultural businesses to be stored or composted in manure storage facilities before being applied to land.

These changes stem from the passage of Bill 44, a provincial bill created to allow amendments to the AOPA, a provincial act dedicated largely to environmental sustainability in Alberta.

The bill is now law, having received Royal Assent May 15. It came into force June 23.

According to an Agri-News story published by Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, these amendments are meant to “reduce regulatory barriers, encourage innovation and promote environmentally-responsible practices in agriculture, particularly the management of manure, agricultural processing by-products and compost, and biogas production.”

Digestate is a by-product of anaerobic digestion, the process of bacteria decomposing organic waste. In this case, that’s predominately manure and other approved feedstocks.

The amendments were made in part to give producers a break from high-cost fertilizers, wrote Jeanna Friedley, communications director with Alberta Agriculture and Innovation, in an email.

“The changes give crop producers access to lower-cost nutrient sources to grow crops and improve soil health.”

The amendments apply to people or operations that produce, store, transport, receive or apply manure, organic materials and compost on agricultural land, explained Friedley.

“This includes producers who use manure as fertilizer, manure applicators, livestock producers who use seasonal feeding and bedding sites, and existing and new confined feeding operations.”

Tracey Smith, executive director of Organic Alberta, expressed optimism over the move, although she saud she had yet to read the bill.

“Anything that allows us to do more on-farm is a good thing,” said Smith in an email.

“This opens up a lot of opportunities for our organic farmers.”

Janine Gibson, a Manitoba-based organic verification officer of 32 years, spoke to the various benefits of digestate.

“Composting and making digestate minimizes handling manure and produces valuable fertility inputs for animal feed crops on farm: cycling nutrients within the operation while minimizing costs,” explained Gibson in an email.

The bill’s allowed feedstocks are listed in Section Five of the new On-Farm Storage and Land Application Code.

“(Bill 22) made amendments to AOPA to allow digestate and select off-farm organic material to be stored or composted in manure storage facilities before land application, or be directly land-applied following AOPA requirements,” wrote Friedley.

These feedstocks encompass a broad range of categories, including certain fats, oils and greases; food processing residues; kitchen and market residues; and animal by-products.

The listed feedstocks can be mixed with manure comprising 50 per cent or more by wet weight of the total feedstock on an annual basis; or one or more of the feedstocks listed in the code, again including 50 per cent or more by wet weight of the total feedstock on an annual basis.

These substances can be mixed with solid or liquid manure depending on the nature of the material. On the solid side, a few of these include wet distillers’ grain, silage hay, fruits and vegetables and sugar beets.

Some of the allowable substances in the liquid manure category include raw milk, whey and distillery stillage.

Any substances not listed in the code will continue to be regulated by Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, which delivers the AOPA.

The materials in Section Five of the code have always been appropriate for use on crops, wrote Friedley. “The changes to AOPA allow these materials to be land-applied following AOPA legislation.”

The AOPA amendments also address the transport of approved organic materials, allowing qualifying organic materials to be transferred from off-farm agri-processors or other agricultural operations onto other ag operations.

Prior to the passing of Bill 44, the fate of these organic substances depended on where they were produced.

Those produced on ag operations could be applied to agricultural land owned or managed by the operation, while any produced off-farm had to be taken to an Environment and Protected Areas-permitted waste management facility, including composting facilities, landfills or biogas facilities.

Although he had little knowledge of the bill at the time of interview, mixed organic producer Ward Middleton from north of Edmonton says any additional tools organic farmers have to improve their crops is a win.

“In a general sense, anything that would be a new additional feedstock for composting or a fertilizer source for organic farmers would be welcome,” he says.

“It is very difficult for organic farmers to find cost-effective nutrient replacements to offset what gets exported from their land with every bushel of grain or whatever produce that they’re producing and selling to consumers.”

However, he emphasized that the federal Canadian Organic Standard is the pre-eminent document governing organic practices in the country.

“Just because the provincial government might say, ‘Yes, we agree that digestate can be used’ it still has to be an input for our compost that complies with the federal organic standard.”

A backgrounder on proposed revisions to the Canadian Organic Standards appears to align with the goals of Bill 44.

“It is permitted to use anaerobic digestate as a compost feedstock if it is added to other substances which are then composted,” reads Table 4.2 of the document.

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“Other countries have recognized the opportunity that the organic sector has, both in terms of meeting some of their economic goals, some of their environmental and social goals, and they have invested significantly in the organic sector,” said My-Lien Bosch, government relations and regulatory affairs manager with the Canadian Organic Trade Alliance (COTA).

“In order for Canada to compete, we need to do that.”

Bosch spoke as part of an online panel discussion on the upcoming federal election, hosted by the Canadian Organic Alliance on March 27.

Election priorities

The Canadian Organic Alliance has identified two categories of election priorities, said Bosch: quick wins and catalytic investments.

Quick wins include an organic data strategy and a streamlined organic standards review process. It also included positive feedback from policymakers.

“We know that data is going to be able to unlock a lot of things that we can have to make decisions in our businesses, on our farms, and be able to help us plan for the future,” Bosch said.

In other countries, organic standards reviews are government funded, Bosch added, whereas in Canada organic groups have to advocate for government help every few years.

Catalytic investments, defined as “longer-term investments, balancing production and market growth, to grow the Canadian economy,” included an organic market development fund, which Bosch said has worked well in other countries to create a more stable market.

Ongoing research and support are also long-term needs.

Bosch added that other countries invest far more in their organic sectors than Canada does. She said for every dollar Canada invests, the U.S. invests eight dollars, and the EU invests 200 dollars.

“So absolutely this needs to step up,” she said.

Effects of tariffs on organic

Panelists also discussed the need for competitiveness and the potential to expand into other markets as tariffs threaten to disrupt Canadian trade with the U.S.

Canada trades $1.797 billion in organic goods to the U.S., said COTA executive director Tia Loftsgard. As of March 27, goods under CUSMA rule of origin regulations were excluded from tariffs.

The trade situation continues to evolve, however, and Canada and the U.S. are each other’s largest organic trading partners. The two countries have had a sixteen-year agreement organic equivalency agreement that has facilitated seamless trade, COTA’s website says.

“We certainly have been indicating that if we lose these markets, farmers will leave organic,” Loftsgard said, adding that it takes three years to transition farm production back once organic certification is lost.

Loftsgard said COTA is in regular communication with federal officials and has been told that they’ll continue to get updates despite the upcoming election.

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“(Prices) are in a holding pattern until we know what’s going to happen with the U.S. situation,” commented Harro Wehrmann of Wehrmann Grain and Seed Ltd.

The threat of tariffs emerged after Donald Trump won the United States Presidential Election. In late November, Trump stated he would impose a 25 per cent levy on all goods the U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico on his first day as president come Jan. 20.

Wehrmann added Trump’s threat has already put the brakes to a lot of organic grain exports to the U.S. as the market waits until the issue is resolved one way or the other.

Meanwhile, Scott Shiels of Grain Millers Canada suggested the tariffs might be somewhat overblown.

“If we do see tariffs once Trump gets in, they won’t be as high as been talked about and some people believe there won’t be any tariffs on ag products,” he said.

However, it’s not only the ‘Trump effect’ that has prices for a number of organic crops standing pat.

“The demand ain’t there,” commented Jason Breault of RW Organics in referring to organic wheat as many buyers are covered likely through to March-April.

He said recent and future interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada could help the industry. On Dec. 11, Canada’s central bank reduced its key lending rate by 25 basis points. Also, Breault said a weaker Canadian dollar would be helpful to organic grains exported to the U.S.

Breault added he hopes prices for wheat don’t fall much further as that could lead to farmers leaving the organic industry.

Jason Charles of Charles Commodity Consulting said he’s seen almost no current bids for organic grains, expect for yellow peas.

“Buyers are mostly bought through to March. I expect things to be slow for the next 90 days,” he commented.

Charles noted that over the course of 2024, he estimated organic grain prices dropped 25 per cent, although production was average  and demand reasonable.

Richard Reimer of Grasslands Brokerage and Consulting suggested prices for organic wheat could ease back by spring. However, he said lentil prices are higher because of demand outstripping the supply.

“The Northern U.S. and Western Canada experienced really low yields this year and we can see higher prices carry into 2025 for old crop and higher than average new crop contracts until more producers choose to put acres into the ground,” Reimer said.

As for organic feed prices, he said those will likely soften in 2025 because of the availability of corn and hard red spring wheat.

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“With increasing demand for local organic products from folks here in Canada and around the world, I have no doubt this investment will have a positive impact right across the value chain,” federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay said in a Thursday news release.

MacAulay pledged up to nearly $$1,175,841 for the Canadian Organic Trade Association (COTA) over three years via the AgriMarketing program and up to $985,985 over three years to the Prairie Organic Development Fund via the AgriCompetativeness program.

This renews federal funding COTA has received since 2012, executive director Tia Loftsgard said in an email.

“This support has been instrumental in advancing our mission at the Canada Organic Trade Association, enabling us to expand our reach, enhance our marketing strategies, and ultimately strengthen the organic sector in Canada,” she said in the federal news release.

Loftsgard said COTA had requested $5 million over three years but received the same amount as their 2021 grant.

The funding mostly flows to member organizations, she added. The rest goes to funding events, webinars and trade shows, producing organic sector data reports, funding organic advocacy work, and other projects.

The Prairie Organic Development Fund (PODF) is “an investment platform established to develop organic agriculture and marketing in the Canadian Prairies,” its website says.

The federal funding will “advance the organic sector in Canada by building evidence for organics through data aggregation and benchmarking, growing organic supply and leadership through education, tools, and skill-building, and strengthening public trust in Canadian organics,” the news release said.

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“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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“The petitioners are calling upon the Government of Canada to give Canadians better and more affordable access to the foods they want by establishing bold policies and programs that would encourage growth in the domestic supply of organic,” said B.C. MP Alistair MacGregor, who tabled the petition.

The Canadian Organic Trade Association (COTA), with the support of other organic groups, launched the online petition at the beginning of April and amassed nearly 1,600 signatures according to a May 7 news release from that organization.

The petition called for the federal government to bolster the organic sector through policies and program, and to “meaningfully recognize and incentivize” sustainable and resilient food systems, like organic.

“Agricultural practices and policies must adapt as consumer demand moves towards organic and sustainable options. Investing in organic not only helps mitigate our climate-related risks but also delivers on changing consumer preferences,” said COTA executive director Tia Loftsgard in the release.

Once a petition is tabled, the government must respond within 45 days.

While petitions rarely bring immediate policy change, Loftsgard said they can keep the topic front-of-mind in the House of Commons.

“This petition provides us another forum to talk about the needs of the organic sector with consumers and government and in the broader context of the Organic Action Plan,” Loftsgard said in an April email.

“It also allows supporters of organic to add their voice to our advocacy efforts and to showcase to their Members of Parliament the broad support for Organic across the nation.”

The organic sector is developing a national organic plan and “is united in its request for a policy mechanism to support implementation of the plan,” the news release said.

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“A shift is needed in how we invest in our agri-food sector to protect Canada’s domestic food supply, and ensure sufficient, appropriate, and accessible food for all,” the Canadian Organic Trade Association (COTA) said in an email to members on Monday.

COTA launched an online petition on April 2 sponsored by NDP MP Alistair MacGregor.

The petition says that Canadian consumers are driving strong demand for organic food, and asks the federal government to establish policies and programs to “encourage growth in the domestic supply of organic to meet the market opportunity,” and to “meaningfully recognize and incentivize sustainable resilient food systems, such as organic, across all departments that relate to Canadian food policy.”

The petition needs at least 500 signatures to be presented to the House of Commons. On Wednesday morning, petition e-4909 had 596 signatures.

In September, national organic groups launched a national organic action plan, which included a push for greater support through federal policy and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s work.

At the time, COTA executive director Tia Loftsgard said that while the federal government provides some funding for organic research and developing export strategies, overall support is “nominal.”

“We get lost in the fold,” she told the Manitoba Co-operator.

This petition supports some of the objectives behind the national organic plan, Loftsgard said in an email yesterday.
While petitions rarely result in immediate policy change, Loftsgard said they can be an effective tool to keep a topic front-of-mind in the House of Commons.

“This petition provides us another forum to talk about the needs of the organic sector with consumers and government and in the broader context of the Organic Action Plan,” Loftsgard said. “It also allows supporters of organic to add their voice to our advocacy efforts and to showcase to their Members of Parliament the broad support for organic across the nation.”

People can sign the petition until May 2.

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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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