ST. FRANCIS, Alta. – There is no doubt in Sherry Horvath’s mind that certified organic food is a healthier option, but frustration sets in when faced with a mountain of paperwork to prove her products are certified organic.
Each food item she and husband, Ed, sell through their Sunshine Organic Farm, at a farmers’ market or in food stores must have a paper trail.
That trail documents every ingredient in the product, the field where the animal or plant was raised, the feed it ate and the mill where the feed was mixed. Even the pepper in the sausage must have a document certifying its organic authenticity.
Read Also
Alberta honey business ‘thrives’ despite bumpy beginnings
Thrive Honey showcases its honey production in market where Alberta produces 40 per cent of all honey produced in the country
“To be organic is costly. The bookkeeping is horrendous and the audit trail is long,” Horvath said as she flipped through thick binders of paperwork.
Horvath doesn’t have a problem doing the paperwork proving she is certified, but her blood begins to boil when other growers say they are organic, just not certified.
The organic grower without certification probably does a good job, but not every spear of hay or bucket full of grain may be organic.
“I can’t believe anybody would go through all that work and not get certified,” she said.
“If it isn’t, don’t make the claim that it is.”
Horvath said about 80 percent of her customers at the downtown Edmonton farmers’ market or who buy from one of the two Edmonton area stores they supply make a point of buying only certified organic food.
One customer drives from Calgary to the Horvath’s farm near Edmonton, to buy his supply of certified organic meat.
“People are looking for food that is healthier for them.”
The Horvaths didn’t always have a certified organic farm. Over the years they gradually made the switch from farming without fertilizer 22 years ago to stopping any treatment for cattle to becoming certified organic.
When the couple quit their former jobs they knew the farm had to be financially viable. The most sensible way seemed to be to add value to their produce.
Each week, from May to October, the couple drives to one of the two Edmonton farmers’ markets to sell beef, pork, chicken, turkey and eggs.
Beside the booth is their concession stand where they cook and sell chicken and hamburger from their organic products. They also sell organic lemonade and organic coffee.
“People are surprised to find organic pop.”
Horvath said they’ve expanded the cuts and products they sell based on demand. Three years ago they began raising chicken and turkeys because customers asked for it.
Customers wanted pork so they started raising pork. They asked for eggs and now 150 dozen eggs are brought to the market each Saturday, including the
jumbo sized eggs from her brown chickens.
“Customers love big eggs,” said Horvath while grading the eggs in their federally inspected egg grading station.
Despite the new additions, their biggest seller is still ground beef.
Last year, a broker from Los Angeles contacted the couple and asked if they would begin raising Berkshire hogs for a client in Japan. Meat from the Berkshire hogs is now popular in high-end restaurants.
In May they bought four sows, but don’t think benefits of exporting to Japan will outweigh good demand for the tasty meat in Canada.
The expanding list of products has also meant a corresponding expansion in workload to 16 or 17 hours a day, seven days a week.
During the summer, the 4,500 pastured poultry chickens must be moved and watered. Eggs must be collected and graded each day, the cattle looked after, hay and silage made and grain harvested.
Horvath said they might soon be forced to be more focused. Their livestock products are all big sellers, but there are problems with the lack of farm help and the cost of processing the meat in a certified organic, provincially inspected facility.
The couple has talked about giving their product more value through a commercial kitchen they hope to establish in their yard. The trailer has been moved in; they just have to find the time to make it operational.
They’ve tossed around ideas such as organic frozen dinners or organic beef sausage.
“The problem is, the people like it all.”
