Organic industry honours one of its visionaries - Organic Matters

Elmer Laird is one of my heroes. He was recently, and deservedly, honoured at Organic Connections 2006 as an organic visionary.

Laird began farming organically nearly 40 years ago and has been an active voice linking agriculture, environment and health ever since.

He came to organic farming through the influence of his wife, Gladys, and by economic hardship. Laird gave up his chemical inputs one year in the late 1960s because he couldn’t afford them. His wife, a reference librarian and environmentalist, was able to find many reasons why this was the right path for the health of both the land and the people.

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Laird was the founding president of the Back to the Farm Research Foundation, a group that developed a number of initiatives to encourage organic farming. One that was particularly successful in bringing attention to their efforts was a contest to build a grasshopper harvester.

Laird, through the foundation, helped sponsor six organic conferences in the late 1970s and early 1980s and worked tirelessly at spreading the word about the benefits of organic farming and the practical methods that make it possible.

In today’s climate of intense consumer demand for organic products, it may be hard to remember how skeptical the agricultural community was at that time about the possibility of sustained organic production. Laird demonstrated techniques on his farm.

In the early 1980s he was a key player in the Canadian Organic Producers Marketing Co-operative Ltd, commonly known as the Girvin Co-op.

In a move that has been emulated by other groups across the Prairies, co-op members bought an abandoned school, furnished it with bins, cleaning equipment and a stone mill, and began selling directly to consumers. The Girvin Co-op was a crucial factor in bringing many of our organic pioneers into organic production and sales.

In 2001, Laird retired and donated his land to the Research Foundation, establishing the first certified organic research and demonstration farm. He continues as the manager on these acres. The foundation demonstrates weed suppressing crops and intercrops and is always open to visitors and farm tours.

Laird finds that women, in their concern for their families, are crucial in helping break the “chemical addiction” common in agricultural communities. It was true in his family, and he sees it frequently. He is a strong advocate of the role of women in organic agriculture.

He continues in his educational role through a weekly column in the Davidson Leader, in his active lobbying of government for organic friendly policy, in his courageous demands for organic food to be part of our health policy and in his regular participation on call-in radio shows.

He is truly a man of vision who has championed the health of the earth, rural communities and eaters everywhere. He is a worthy recipient of the organic community’s recognition.

As this is my last article of the year, I would also like to mention that 2006 was a hard year on organic heroes. Death claimed two men whom I admired greatly and who mentored me in my organic path.

Kirby McCuaig was a farmer who reminded me why research and extension are worthwhile and brought me back as an active participant in the organic community. He was a supportive, insightful and encouraging research partner.

McCuaig once told an organic workshop that he and I shared a disease: the curiosity to search out an understanding of how things worked. His enthusiasm was inspiring and his gentle wisdom and practical approach were life affirming.

Alex Scott was a community builder. A founding member of the Organic Producers Association of Manitoba, he dedicated himself to serving the organic community with quiet humility. He consistently built bridges and encouraged us to focus on our shared values. Scott’s calm strength remains a touchstone for me.

I honour each of these organic heroes, and I am deeply grateful for their examples.

Frick is the prairie co-ordinator for the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada located at the University of Saskatchewan. She can be reached at 306-966-4975, at brenda.frick@usask.ca, or www.organicagcentre.ca.