Whats your view on organic ag in western canada?

[pourfarmer]

My last post about organic markets
stirred up some mixed reactions on
organic production. I am always
interested in hearing what other farmers
think, I am not looking for 'bashing'
posts but more of a discussion. If your
views are negative thats fine, but
please try and voice them appropriately.

The way I look at it is, I am able to
produce a product there is a demand for,
and I am able to turn a profit doing so.
I dont farm organically to try and save
the whales or whatever.

Before you think your organic neighbour
is a hippy granola munching pot head
that belong in BC, remember we are just
like you 'real' farmers trying to make
living out here.

[charliep]

An ag economist view.

1) There is a demand for organic products by a segment of the consumer market. Growing a product for a market is always a good thing. Demand pull. Not a high volume commodity but a product for a customer.

2) There are common values in the organic supply chain and I suspect this makes working together easier. Common goals and shared values.

3) Diversity is a good thing in agricultural production. Organic farming agronomic practices likely have elements of fit within conventional agriculture.

[newguy]

I view it as nich market that seems to have demand from consumers.Sounds perfect. These consumers are interested in paying a bit more for healthier and eviromentaly friendly food. In my opinion organic farming to produce grain results in the worst enviromental farming practices.Too much erosion and loss of organic matter due to cultivation practices. Think the organic thing all depends on the perception of it due to only hearing the retail side of the story.

[Burbert]

Quackgrass'll gettcha eventually!

[bobofthenorth]

First off I refuse to call it "organic" because that is a perversion of the real meaning of the word. What we're really talking about is low yield agriculture.

Its all about managing perceptions. There's no real health benefit to low yield agriculture but there is a segment of the public who thinks there is and may be prepared to pay a premium to satisfy their perception. There may in fact be health disadvantages to low yield production but so far that science isn't widely accepted. That's the demand side.

On the supply side the perception that the food is local and produced in certified low yield conditions is harder to verify. The low yield associations are fragmented and have no real means of enforcing their standards. Ultimately I predict that somebody will do an expose that reveals that some large food chain is buying what turns out to be high yield production and selling it for low yield pricing. At that point consumer confidence and therefore willingness to pay too much will evaporate and the whole thing will go where it richly deserves to go - into the dustbin of history.

In the meantime if you can milk the goat go for it. If people are stupid enough to pay extra for an "organic" label on an inferior product they why wouldn't you capitalize on it, if you can make money doing so. I know a couple of producers who maintain one low yield certified field just for this purpose. Agronomically it is an abomination but economically it MAY make sense. Personally I think the economics always favour high yield production but if you can bleed a little high yield production off for low yield pricing .........

Oh dear, what have I said!!

[burnt]

Well you said something about perceptions and goats and the two seem to summarize your post quite nicely!

Just sayin' because you asked!

[wd9]

Best to do the organic thing while you
can. Eventually you'll take enough
nutrients from the land and it will not
grow much. Not sustainable for food
production.

[SASKFARMER3]

The last two organic guys in our area are
out. One has a very nice canola crop and
other needs more fert but better than he
has had in past. Welcome.

[Kodiak]

So where would I go to find inorganic farm food?

[perfecho]

Naw...I like tht my food is sprayed two or three times....at times to kill it....dead. And on all of it, potatoes .....peas, beans, you name we have found a way to contamina....errrr, I mean grow it efficently. Can't you see with the lower cancer rates and lower nitrate levels in the water bodies, chemical farming is the only way to go!

[sumdumguy]

Lower cancer rates - my eye!

[hedgehog]

i was an organic farmer till last year, but the organic market in the uk collapsed after the credit crunch and buyers became hard to find.
increasing weed problems coupled with deisel prices for ploughing led me to quit.
i couldnt survive at £60/t for normal wheat in 1999, so i went organic, and it kept my business alive till better prices returned.
i didnt feel at all uneasy at selling organic wheat for £8/bu or flax at £16/bu, spuds at £350/ton.
but the best bit was the power i had to negotiate a price with the buyer.

[newguy]

What I get a kick out of are some of the so called green thinking people feel food should not be made into feul do not realize the organic meal they just ate could have been a meal for 3 if it was produced in a zero till way. Was told once that organic farmers wanted a test to make sure grain was organic. Grain commission said impossible as what they wanted to test for could not be detected with exsisting technology.

[wd9]

They can test for pesticide residues tho.
About 3000 of them.

[sjc]

Who says in the near future we cannot have Organic GM crops? If a crop is developed to resist pests without the use of pesticides, could it not be considered organic?

We have always disassociated GM with organic but in my mind, it is possible that they could one day be associated with eachother. The definition of organic ag will change, as new technology is developed and adopted.