Soil microbiology, diversity and nutrient cycling among considerations if farmers want to ditch the iron, consultant says
Producers went back to biology class during a recent SaskOrganic’s field day in Spalding, Sask., and biodiversity was one of the lessons. Kevin Elmy, cover crop consultant with Imperial Seed, urged producers to design systems that will increase species diversity. A truly diverse system, he said, should include a legume, grass and a forb to […] Read moreTag Archives organic — page 2
Ag Notes
BMO funds ag literacy The University of Calgary plans to launch a program to change how society perceives and interacts with the food system, funded by a $1 million donation from BMO. The program, called Ag Literacy for Healthier People and Planet, will “help build understanding about the complexities of the agricultural system” and the […] Read more
New U.S. organic rules cause headaches for Canadian exporters
A rule change meant to protect the integrity of organic food in the U.S. is causing headaches for Canadian exporters as it nears its enforcement date. The rule, which implements mandates from the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill, requires National Organic Program (NOP) certificates for all organic imports, and certification of businesses at more points of […] Read more
Demand continues to soften for organic food
WINNIPEG — Canada’s organic industry struggled over the last couple of years, with the volume of sales dropping for the first time in many years. Fresh organic fruit, for instance, saw a 43 per cent decline in sale volumes from 2021 to 2023. Other categories of organic had more success, but COVID-19 and the post-pandemic […] Read more
U.S. organic sales fall for the first time
SASKATOON — Organic sales in the United States have slumped after rising steadily for decades. Sharon Raszap Skorbiansky, research economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, said retail sales fell for the first time ever in 2021. “It was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, by high food price inflation, the economic downturn […] Read more
Burned elevator played big role in Sask. organic sector
MEDICINE HAT — When fire devastated the Loreburn, Sask., elevator owned by F.W. Cobs, the Vermont-based president of the company, Shaun Brooks, visited the site to talk with community officials and survey the damage. “The community means a lot him. He’s spent a lot of time up there the 15 years we’ve been there so […] Read more
Organic sector asks for targets
Industry lobbies government to adopt an organic action plan but concedes it will not happen overnight
WINNIPEG — Organic farming leaders want the federal government to implement a policy similar to Europe, in which 25 percent of farmland is supposed to be organic by 2030. That’s considered an unrealistic target for Canada, considering only three percent of farmland is currently in organic production. As a result, organic leaders are proposing a […] Read more
Farmer pursues PhD with sustainability research
David Rourke, a 67-year-old grain farmer from Minto, Man., made it clear he’s not in competition with his mother, but he’s obviously cut from a similar cloth. After earning a master’s degree in education and then a master’s degree in nursing, Rourke’s mom went back to school in her 50s to pursue a PhD in […] Read more
EU organic output out of step with consumption
European farmers say they are encouraged to produce more organically even as consumer interest in the product wanes
CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Organic consumption is falling in Europe even as governments mandate more production using that farming system. The European Commission is not paying attention to what people want, said Lode Ceyssens, president of the Belgian Farmers Union in Flanders. “They are not following consumer trends,” he said during a session on market and […] Read more
Cows essential element in organic production
A Manitoba producer finds a delicate balance to help him boost production while maintaining organic certification
Ile de Chenes, Man. — Three organic farmers swap fields back and forth, keeping land certified five years before returning to alfalfa. Their rotation is a delicate balance, but worth the complexity. For Ile de Chenes farmer John Gehrer, the payoff this fall has been significant for his low-input organic system, considering his management plan […] Read more
