Marc Boulanger’s family, which farms in southwestern Manitoba, decided to switch to organic production methods eight years ago after seeing the dark side of pesticide use.
After spraying to control a plague of grasshoppers, a common problem in some years in the light, sandy soil in their area, they noticed unexpected collateral damage.
“The chemical we used did a really good job of killing the grasshoppers. Then eventually it started killing the cats and other things in and around our yard,” he said.
“That’s kind of when we first twigged in that maybe this isn’t the best thing to be doing around our home.”
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His mother discovered that she was allergic to some of the chemical inputs and fertilizers, so Marc, his father, Gaston, and brother, Daniel, began the three-year transition to organic production on their combined 2,200 acre mixed livestock and grain operation near Grand Clairiere.
In the late 1990s, talk of pesticide-free production, hormone-free beef and organic certification caught their attention.
They sought information from the Organic Producers Association of Manitoba, based in nearby Virden, and literature and advice from Manitoba Agriculture extension agent John Hollinger, as well as the University of Manitoba’s agriculture department.
Typically, moving conventional cropland to certified organic is a three-year process. But when Boulanger bought a quarter section of native prairie grassland for pasture, a one-page affidavit declaring that the land had never been touched by chemicals was enough.
“The guy had been renting it for 20 years. He just signed an affidavit stating that he had never used fertilizer or chemicals on the land. Then they came and inspected it that summer and by the next year it was certified organic,” said Boulanger, who also works as a Manitoba Agriculture agent based in Souris.
“For anyone with forages, it’s very easy to certify land. It’s not a lengthy process at all.”
Their mixed oper-ation includes 180 cows, plus 220 calves in various stages of finishing.
Land is sown to cereals such as fall rye, oats and barley, as well as buckwheat and flax on the better parts.
Boulanger said the transition to organic that began in 2000 was not without pitfalls. Mother Nature handed them three Fs in the years after 2003, after all the land was certified.
“The first F was fried. When you have sandy land, no rain at all and 30 to 40 degree weather, it gets pretty crispy,” he said.
“On top of that we had BSE and the grasshoppers came back to visit us.”
Their plan to certify their cattle herd was dealt a setback by the drought. With no feed available, organic or otherwise, they had to truck it from Swan River 300 kilo-metres away and put off certification of the herd for another year.
In 2004, the second F arrived in the form of frost.
His father’s 40 acre flax “field of dreams” seeded onto plowed-down alfalfa was struck by that year’s infamous Aug. 20 frost, when the mercury dropped to -5 C overnight.
“It was the best flax crop he had ever grown. All the neighbours were sick of hearing about it. It was right next to the road, too,” said Boulanger. “At the time, organic flax was about $25 a bushel.”
The 140 acre buckwheat crop was also hit hard.
“When we first started growing buckwheat, Dad used to warn us to never walk past it with an ice cream cone, because it would fall over,” he said jokingly.
“We were pretty devastated at the time, but in our organic system, it actually worked out fine. We just disced it in. You can still see where we had the buckwheat and where we didn’t.”
In 2005, the third F, flood, came in the form of 250 millimetres of rain June 1, followed by another 150 mm in the four weeks that followed.
“Our family has lived in the area for over 100 years and we never complained about too much water. But by the end of June, we were sick of it.”
A fourth F for the move to organic, said Boulanger, stands for flexibility. Now, they accept the fact that they may have to change their cropping plans up to five times within the month of May.
“We might want to grow a cereal in the spring, but if it gets too late, then buckwheat is a nice option on the cropland.”
By 2004, the cattle herd was certified, and the calves the next year. Calves from conventional cows can be certified organic, he noted, so long as they are fed only organic feed in their last trimester.
“Transitioning, so long as you have the feed available, is pretty easy to do,” he said. “But once they are organic, they have to stay that way.”
A scours outbreak in the spring of 2005 saw 32 calves in the calving yard fall out of the certification plan when they had to be treated with antibiotics.
“We ended up moving them to a different part of the farm on higher ground,” he said. “Part of our problem was that we hadn’t done enough research on natural and homeopathic remedies for cattle.”
The treated calves’ tag numbers were recorded and they were later marketed conventionally in the fall after running with the rest of the herd all summer.
Pinkeye and foot rot can be resolved by isolating infected animals until they get better, usually after a few weeks of rest on a dry pasture.
“Herd health so far has been pretty good,” said Boulanger, rapping the table with his knuckles.
Much of the organic forage for their operation comes from native hay land owned by neighbours, but certified in their name under a long-term agreement.
Faced with pressure for cash flow and lack of an organic marketing channel, part of their first calf crop was sold into the traditional market.
“One day, my brother Daniel was steaming mad. He came charging into the house and said, ‘These are organic calves. We’ve got to sell them into the organic market. Dad, get on the phone.’ “
After some calls, buyers were found, and the rest of the 2005 calves were grassed over the summer and finished on grain.
Their organic cattle, which sell for $2.10 a pound on the rail, or $1.30 live weight, are picked up by the truckload in their yard. They work with a handful of other farms to assemble their animals so they can ship the semi-trailer loads that organic buyers prefer.
