GERALD, Sask. – Along with the search for more lucrative crops come a few hassles some producers just aren’t used to.
“Is this herb and spice thing going to be another crop that I have to pay for the shipping and marketing myself?”asked a farmer attending a recent Saskatchewan Herb and Spice Association field day.
“Yes, and that is the future of farming,” said spice association president Brian Petracek.
From now on farmers will not only have to think about producing the crop, but must seriously think about marketing it. The Canadian Wheat Board won’t be there to assist farmers, he said.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
“You have to have a year’s production in storage before you can get most contracts to sell your product.”
The hassles of marketing are no different for the association. Petracek is trying to raise awareness of Saskatchewan’s herb and spice crops across Canada.
A trip to Montreal for the Canadian Spice Association’s annual convention was an eye opener for both sides.
“They are used to getting their supplies from the Third World and Europe. Saskatchewan is foreign to them,” he said.
Many of the Canadian association’s members are brokers, dealers, processors and distributors, and were leery of the Saskatchewan product. The ones that were interested wanted to deal with the provincial association, rather than individual farmers.
The buyers felt working with the association would help stabilize the quality and supply of the Saskatchewan product, said Petracek.
Not identical to traditional
Nora Martin, president of the Canadian Spice Association said they’ve discovered even though a high-quality product may be priced right and available in good quantity, the end user may not like it because it is not identical to the traditional product they use.
Spice varieties should be carefully evaluated and markets selected before large-scale production begins, she said.
“It is important that the millers are getting products that fit the market.”
Saskatchewan producers have some advantages when competing in the market. There is little disease and the oil content is high from the hot summer days and cool nights.
Martin said a Saskatchewan producer could probably command a small premium for a clean, sterile product.
Raw spice from some Third World suppliers often arrives with “rubber boots and other stuff in it.”
