One can summarize 1999 as the year organic food hit mainstream. With the current conflict surrounding GMO's, regular reports linking agro-chemicals and health problems, we see organic food in the media and on everyone's lips. Homestead Organics has kept the pace as well. Sales in this crop year should reach 2500 tonnes, well over the 1500 last year. We added more storage and installed a gravity table. We hope that we have been of service to you and count on working with you again next year.
Happy Organic Millenium 2000!
As your "customer", please allow me to offer some feed back on the 1999 crop. Overall, crop yields and quality have been good this year, despite a few specific problems. The corn was all #1 except for one small load which was light; many yields were around 2,5 to 3 tonnes per acre. We just wished that we had more acres. There was insufficient wheat in Eastern Ontario; four producers of hard red spring wheat sold a nice product to the milling market and one other lot went to feed.
Barley was too popular this year, with half the crop sold wholesale at low margin and the other half in storage. There was still too much for local feed needs. Two producers provided an excellent grain - full, clean and heavy. The half dozen other lots were low weight, #2 or #3 quality; you need to work on your nitrogen availability. The local oat crop was of good quality; the volume was sufficient for our storage capacity but insufficient for the market. Some spelt crops did well this year while others were winter killed; it can survive the winter if it has good drainage and good snow cover.
As usual, buckwheat was unpredictable and inconsistent. While most people understood the need to swath, the weather kept the windrow on the field for up to two months. Early buckwheat swathed in August brought excellent yields, but was later plagued by warm wet weather and sprouting!
Then we come to soybeans; that is what makes or breaks your year! The organic feed soybean market in North America is depressed to $325 versus $700 for food because there are too many rejects in the food market. As production increases, customers become picky, very picky! You need a perfectly clean bean, perfectly yellow hylum, perfectly round shape, and a perfect seed coat to make food grade. We have rejected about 150 tonnes of local beans from the food trade. Some more lots are marginal and are waiting in a farmer's storage bin - half because of management problems and half because of weather. The hot drought followed by a wet autumn caused many imperfect hylums to go dark, left many beans immature with green flesh or caused beans to swell then dry down with damaged coats. Within a farmer's responsibility, we saw too many mud stains and grass stains. Lessons: we are restricting our seed varieties, as you will read below. Secondly, you need better control of the combine (availability, speed, type of head, attention to detail, etc).
Canadian Organic Growers (Ottawa) works hard linking producers and consumers. We are expanding our producers' list to a full organic food directory for Eastern Ontario and Western Québec. It will include producers, retailers, processors, distributors, and CSAs who provide food directly to consumers. The directory is distributed free to about 3000 people: COG Ottawa members, the COG booth during public events, Homestead Organics' mailing list, community centers, Omafra field offices, organic retail locations, health centers, etc. Please call me to get on the list and HURRY as the deadline is very close.
Canada's largest organic conference is getting bigger and better again - in Guelph on January 27th, 28th, 29th, and 30th. The conference continues to develop its content and scope. It will feature intensive seminars on Thursday and Friday, 20 workshops on Saturday and a full day on biodynamic farming on Sunday. Learn about soil fertility, weed control, permaculture, marketing, livestock, and more. You can attend any days of your choice. You can also visit close to 100 vendors, processors and associations in the trade show on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call Tomas Nimmo at 705-444-0923 or stop by our mill and pick up the pamphlet. Also visit the website.
Canadian Organic Growers (Ottawa) is again sponsoring the "Focus on Ecological Farming" day, held at Kemptville College, W.B. George Center, on Saturday, February 19th, 8:30 am - 4:00pm. This is our most important regional conference on organic farming. We have made the program much richer and broader to satisfy many of your information needs. Hear from local and distant experts on organic production and marketing.
We have four simultaneous streams:
Market Gardening: fruit production; garlic production; organic greenhouse; getting started in market gardening.
Field Crops: mechanical weed control; quality assurance; successful crop rotations; successful complimentary activities.
Livestock: egg production; preventive health measures; dairy production; poultry production.
General Interest: market garden producers' cooperative; choosing a certification agency; successful marketing.
For further information, contact Doug Scott, tel: (613) 258-3044, dascott@sympatico.ca or visit www.cog.ca/ottawa.
How is it done organically? What am I doing wrong? Do you have ambitions for better yield and quality? Join us for a workshop on organic production methods. We will cover all aspects of each specific crop including planting, weed control, harvesting, marketing. All producers, no matter the level of experience, have something to share and something to learn. Come and share with your peers; reserve early so that we may book additional evenings if required.
On Wednesday evenings, 7:30PM to 10PM, South Nation Conservation Office in Berwick:
For information and reservations, call me toll free 1-877-984-0480.
Organic grain production around the world is increasing rapidly thanks to your success, attractive prices and a grave concern about agro-chemicals. That means downward price pressure. But demand is increasing just as fast if not faster with the current GMO scare. That means that prices should remain stable, maybe up for corn and maybe down for soybeans. My crystal ball for autumn 2000 says (no guarantees, harvest time - add $20 for on-farm storage, landed in Berwick): feed wheat, oats, barley: stable $175; corn: up $190; hard spring milling wheat: stable $230; soft milling wheat: stable $215; buckwheat: stable $400; food soybeans: down $600; feed soybeans: stable $325.
As always, respect your soil first and manage your crop rotation. If you need a grass and you have lots of nitrogen, then we need more corn but don't flood me with it. If you have medium nitrogen availability, then the market asks for more hard red spring wheat. Finally, barley and oats are needed, but in moderate amounts and you still need adequate nitrogen. For next fall, try some spelt on well drained land; otherwise, various types of winter wheat are needed, but with on-farm storage. Lastly, rye is appreciated in limited amounts. To build up nitrogen, then soybeans remain your first choice. Legume hay is an important nitrogen builder before corn and a great weed suppressor, but don't count on an organic market for it. For the adventurous, try some other edible beans, flax, or sunflowers.
We were caught short of seed again last year. Plan your crop NOW! Organic growers must use untreated and GMO-free seed. Since most of the registered seed is treated, it is important that we assemble large seed orders to warrant an untreated lot. That means that I need your seed order NOW.
We will have Hyland 2202 corn and perhaps some Pickseed. I know that Pioneer is still taking orders for untreated seed corn. We will sell Advantage Atwood and Hyland Bounty soybeans; I also recommend S-0880 from Novartis. After this year's problems, I recommend against any imperfect yellow hylum such as PS42, KG41, Arthur, S-03C3, etc. I cannot guarantee that any variety will always produce an acceptable product. Call me before you buy your seed from anyone to review the variety. We will have Grant barley, hopefully Domain HRS wheat, Rigadon oats, and common buckwheat. Any special needs must be known early: peas, edible beans, etc.
As an organic producer, you probably also prefer organic food for your own kitchen. But I bet that you find it expensive if you can find it at all. Perhaps I can help. For almost two years now, our organic food store at the mill has grown to a considerable selection of dry goods, dairy products and frozen bread. You can find peas, beans, rice, flour, grains, sprouting seeds, and much more. To help you save, we have focussed on bulk purchases in bags of 10 to 25 kg for your family, friends and buying club. Please consult the enclosed price list. Take advantage of your next feed or seed purchase at the mill or my visits in your area. Our feed dealers will also take orders for bulk bags but you must pick it up quickly at their location; in that case, add $1,50 per item for transportation.