Reading Time: 2 minutes The petition says that Canadian consumers are driving strong demand for organic food, and asks the federal government to establish policies and programs to “encourage growth in the domestic supply of organic to meet the market opportunity,” and to “meaningfully recognize and incentivize sustainable resilient food systems, such as organic, across all departments that relate to Canadian food policy.”
Organic group send petition to federal government
Feds asked to establish policies and programs to help organic producers meet consumer demand, create sustainable food systems
Organic’s doubtful future
Here’s a headline that got it right: “Despite growing demand, number of organic farms is down.”
Reading Time: 5 minutes The headline above is from the Globe and Mail, which may surprise some farm readers. A definite surprise, though, is that it’s from 2006. And most surprising of all? The headline is still true. You could run it again in 2023. Among consumers, organic demand has grown. In 2021, Canadians spent nearly $9.4 billion on […] Read more
Webinar reveals thoughts on present, future of organic markets
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm – Ten representatives from companies buying or producing organic crops took part in a webinar discussing the markets for those crops hosted by SaskOrganics on Oct. 27. The marketing webinars, which are held bi-annually before spring seeding and after harvest, are designed to connect organic grain buyers and producers as well as provide information […] Read more
Room to grow organic
Farmers are upping their organic output, but they’re still a long way from meeting the demand of the two-thirds of Canadians who sometimes or always shop for organic
Reading Time: 5 minutes Led by Millennial buyers, demand for organic food across Canada is growing robustly. Demand is surging ahead of domestic production, which has been growing but not nearly fast enough to keep up. “Demand is definitely outpacing supply,” says Jill Guerra, research and special projects co-ordinator for Canada Organic Trade Association (COTA). “We need more producers […] Read more
The power of whole farm co-design
A research project brings farmers together to share results and discuss what works and what doesn’t
Reading Time: 4 minutes Let’s say you’re a soybean producer in Manitoba. You’re growing conventional varieties and doing well — selling into a ready market, getting a decent price. Then one day in the coffee shop you overhear a guy talk about the price he’s getting for organic soybeans — pretty much double what you’re getting — and you […] Read more
Their big idea
As Mike Kosaka and Adriane Skaros are learning, it takes determination, toughness, and plenty of smarts to succeed as a local-food startup. How many smarts? Well, read on
Reading Time: 10 minutes Young Zoe Jones and Ava Kosaka have sized me up. The girls are ultra-enthusiastic entrepreneurs. They’ve got a marketing plan, they’ve perfected their product, and — just weeks into production — they’re already watching the dollars roll in. Of course, the girls may be only seven and nine years old, respectively, but they already know […] Read more
USDA pulls plan to stiffen rules for organic egg farms
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture scrapped proposed rules on Monday that for the first time would have mandated specific space requirements for hens laying organic eggs and spelled out what it means for the birds to have access to the outdoors. USDA determined it did not have the authority to impose […] Read more
Large, commercial… and organic
Agri-Fusion says its choice to go organic is a business no-brainer, with a collaborative new management design to make sure it pays
Reading Time: 6 minutes Agri-Fusion’s four owners of Quebec largest organic farm never looked back at their choice to go organic. Whether it’s wheat, corn, soybeans, beans or peas, organic crops earn them twice as much per acre as conventional crops, and they cost much less to produce. It’s a point I heard again from 67-year-old Gilles Audette, one […] Read more
Giving our business to India
If we won’t grow our own organic food, these small farmers are more than ready to step in. In fact, they already are
Reading Time: 6 minutes Once again my perception of our agricultural industry has been rocked by international travel. This time it was a visit to India in December that challenged my perception of organic production and marketing. First on my list was a cashew processor in Mangalore on India’s west coast. Canadians might be taken aback when they see […] Read more
Where might Canada’s food trends be headed?
Food guru Dana McCauley is forecasting great new opportunities for farmers
Reading Time: 4 minutes Have you ever thought there might be an opportunity in knowing what foods will be hot in the next few years? Ever wonder if you should really care? For our Country Guide readers, I asked Toronto’s Dana McCauley — chef, recipe developer, food trend watcher, and executive director of Food Starter, a non-profit food incubator […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
