Organic industry takes a big step forward

LOCAL FOOD AND ORGANIC food are two very different animals, but they have one thing in common: consumers, who want them both.

Local food’s definition was once quite rigid. Some said that for food to truly be local, it had to be grown within 100 kilometres of your home.

Or in some cases, maybe 50 kilometres. Or 100 miles, if you live in the U.S.

Even the federal and provincial government weighed in on definitions, needing to provide a measuring stick for initiatives involving local food.

But over time, people have come to interpret the definition of local food in their own, useful way. In fact, I haven’t heard a good debate about what specific distance constitutes “local” in ages.

I think that’s because the exact kilometres or miles aren’t the point. Rather,it’s more the meaning behind “local” that counts – that is, grown or raised by nearby farmers.

You know in your heart what “nearby” means. That’s local.

And like local food, organic food has grown

in popularity. Retail sales have skyrocketed by double digits over the past decade. Current sales are estimated at $5.4 billion across Canada. Exports to the U.S. and Europe are also on the rise.

However, there’s a problem.

Canadian producers are able to meet just 30-40 per cent of the domestic demand. And that underlines the need for more organic production research.

Organic food must be grown to exacting standards to be officially certified organic. Otherwise, its definition is hollow, and consumer trust is broken.

National standards for organic production have been written. Some provinces accept them as is, others adapt them in ways they think serve farmers in their province best.

However, without research, any kind of agriculture stagnates.

That’s particularly true today, with so many pressures on the livestock and crops we call food. Consider climate change, global hunger and urban encroachment among them. Food production needs to change and improve constantly for farmers to not only adapt, but to get ahead, too.

Governments know that. They put a lot of resources into agri-food research. And they’re increasingly looking to the agriculture sector to chip in money of its own.

Lately, Ottawa teamed up with the organic industry for research and innovation to help it meet consumer demand, with a $12-million, five-year research program.

That money will bring together more than 70 industry partners for 28 studies to improve soil health and fertility management, advance crop breeding research, improve pest management, and evaluate the environmental impacts of organic farm practices.

Several of these studies have an on-farm component involving producers with various-sized research plots. Some will be done in conjunction with University of Guelph researchers, or at Guelph’s network of research stations.

But the bottom line is that organic agriculture is taking a huge step forward with this major research funding commitment.

Andrew St. Jean, an organic crop producer from Plattsville, and a producer board member with the Organic Council of Ontario, agrees research is key for the industry’s advancement.

He notes it’s not just organic farmers who will prosper from new research findings, though.

“Organic and conventional farmers benefit from research that results in fewer inputs being used for production,” he says. “This has the potential to help everyone.”

In the end, consumers benefit from research, too. They’ll have more choice, better products and the production transparency everyone craves in their food.

And all that makes support for organic research a good investment.