The sandy soil around Arden, Man., is known for the carpet of prairie crocuses that poke through the ground each April.
There are so many of the tiny wildflowers here that community groups decided to build a three-metre high steel crocus as a millennial tribute.
Now, people from the area are rallying around another local monument: their last wooden elevator that is slated for closure by Agricore.
Just as the crocus is a harbinger of spring, they are hoping their elevator will usher in a new type of economic activity for the area, the first of its kind in the province.
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They want to turn the elevator into a specialized plant for handling and shipping organic cereals, oilseeds and pulses produced by farmers who belong to a closed co-operative.
An increasing number of small farmers are considering going organic to save on input costs and reap premium prices, said Mark Fisher, local economic development officer with Wheatbelt Community Futures and the Neepawa and Area Development Corp.
Fisher started working on the Canadian Organic Producer Co-operative Ltd. project shortly after he was hired last July.
“What caught my eye was the (organic) farmer was getting paid $7.50 per bushel for wheat,” he said.
Markets for organic crops are growing by as much as 25 percent a year, according to some estimates.
But it’s hard for new organic farmers in Manitoba to find niche
markets.
“They can grow the crop, but selling it is difficult.”
He said Saskatchewan has a larger infrastructure of buyers and handlers.
Arnie Suski, organic farmer and reeve of the local Lansdowne municipality, said he sells his crops through conventional channels.
More recently, he’s learned more about marketing by become certified through Pro-Cert Organic Systems of Saskatoon, and attending an organic conference in Winnipeg.
“It seemed like there was no real good marketing system in Manitoba,” said Suski, who has bought membership shares in the new co-op.
By pooling their production through the co-op, organic farmers can serve large buyers in Europe and Asia, and take home the cut that dealers would normally assess.
“We’re trying to eliminate the middleman involved in marketing.”
Co-op organizers have just begun selling memberships to farmers and community members at $100 for 10 shares. The money will help get the project rolling.
Over the next two months, Fisher said the group is working on a feasibility study of local organic production and markets, as well as a business plan.
Organizers are traveling to meetings and an organic workshop in Brandon to try to attract members.
They’ve also begun negotiations with Agricore for the relatively young elevator in Arden, a town of about 200, where every job counts.
“Arden is a tiny village,” said Fisher. “Four jobs in Arden is equivalent to 4,000 jobs in Winnipeg.”
The elevator is on the CP mainline and a CN shortline, and is five kilometres off the Yellowhead Highway.
“We lost an elevator in the municipality last year,” Suski said.
“It’s quite an impact to a municipality.”
He said the town has less traffic now, but more big trucks are wearing on the roads, and there are fewer taxes with which to fix them.
