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OANZ Organic News

Monday, September 8, 2008
Posted in Organics | Tagged Organics

It is heartening to see rising interest in organic conversion coming from right across the country. Our 0800 FUTURE toll-free number is now frequently receiving calls not just from producers keen on conversion but also processors and exporters seeking certified organic products. This range of calls is a good indicator that increasing supply is moving alongside rising demand.

A further indication to me that interest is high was the number of wine growers who chose to attend the organic and biodynamic sessions at last week’s Romeo Bragato 14th Annual Conference in Christchurch. I estimate that over a third of all the conference participants saw the presentations, which were given by some of the leading lights in the organic/biodynamic wine sector. Those I spoke to at the conference said their curiosity in organic and biodynamic production came from the desire to make even better quality wine than they were currently doing with conventional growing.

Meanwhile, in other sectors it seems that high input prices are continuing to prompt a large number of the calls to 0800 FUTURE. The UK Soil Association has, this week, questioned what the future holds for both conventional and organic agriculture in the face of increasing oil prices (see story below).

Unsurprisingly, they found that as oil prices rise “economic forces increasingly favour organic farming” - and could drive major changes in farming methods despite the UK having relatively low distribution costs and a market of over 60 million people on their doorstep. Without these advantages, how would New Zealand’s agriculture and horticulture fare in this oil-scarce world? I suspect that this question is prompting more people to call us wanting to explore an organic future.

From the Chief Executive - Dr Jon Tanner

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South Island’s largest organic milk factory to open

A Southland dairy farming couple are building an organic milk processing factory near the site of the old Tuturau Dairy Factory, near Wyndham.

Robin and Lois Greer new company, Retro Organics, will produce organic milk, cream, yoghurt and handmade cheese the old-fashioned way - just as it used to be made in the old factory, built a century earlier.

The new 800 square-metre factory, which will open later this month, is the largest on-site organic milk processing plant in the South Island.

Mr Greer says, “It’s always been my dream to process my own milk and put with that our beliefs of what quality food is - that’s what’s driven it.”

The Greers milk 600 cows on their 300ha farm and are in the organic certification process.

Mr Greer says they want to introduce integrity back into food production. He stresses, “It’s not going to be production line cheese … it’s going to be handmade, along the lines of traditional cheeses.”

The Greers say they are passionate about good quality food, which was a major contributing factor in their move towards organics.

“We have an opportunity to produce decent food because of our control over the whole process, from growing the grass to processing and packaging the product,” Mr Greer says.

Monsanto chairman buys organic food

The chairman and CEO of Monsanto, Hugh Grant, has admitted on admitting on a US radio show that he buys organic produce.

During a wide-ranging interview, in which Mr Grant outlined Monsanto’s vision for genetically-modified food to help “feed the planet”, he was also asked about his views on organic food, and whether Monsanto saw it as a threat.

Interviewer: Do you worry at all about the rise of organic foods and people being more interested in more natural produce and product?

Grant: No, no, I don’t. I think if you walk through any supermarket there’s a portion of that shelf is going to be organic and that’s just fine and there’s a big piece of that shelf is driven by quality and affordability. A lot of the organic material is still pretty expensive.

Interviewer: Do you ever buy organic food yourself?

Grant: Yeah, I do. Yeah.

The full interview is at: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/08/20/corner_office_grant_transcript/

Will organics become more profitable as oil prices rise?

The production of organic crops such as wheat, barley and oil seed rape could become more profitable compared to non-organic as the price of oil increases to $200 per barrel - predicted by a recent Chatham House report to happen in five to 10 years.

This is one of the conclusions of a study carried out for the Soil Association in the UK. The study, by farm business consultants Andersons, is titled ‘The impact of rising oil prices on organic and non-organic farm profitability’.

It shows that with oil at $200 per barrel the profit margins of organic combinable crop systems would be up to 20 per cent higher than for conventional crops. This is mainly due to the high cost of artificial fertilisers - a fossil fuel heavy industry - used in conventional systems.

At these prices, the claimed efficiency of fossil-fuel and fertiliser dependent industrial farming begins to decrease sharply. Organic farming does not use artificial chemical fertilisers, instead building soil fertility through crop rotations and particularly the use of clover that fixes nitrogen naturally from the atmosphere using the sun’s energy and photosynthesis. Clover can fix 200kg of nitrogen per hectare over a year.

With oil at $135 per barrel (which it was when the financial analysis was done), the profit margins for organic and non-organic production of a combinable crops system per hectare were virtually identical.

The Soil Association’s policy director, Peter Melchett, says, “This study suggests that as oil inevitably becomes scarcer and costs more, economic forces will increasingly favour organic farming. Organic systems are not perfect, but they do use less energy, generally emit fewer greenhouse gases, can sequester carbon in the soil, provide more jobs and support more wildlife.

“This report suggests they could also offer a more secure long-term financial future for the UK’s farmers.”

Peter Kendell, president of the UK farmers’ union, the NFU, predicts due to rising input costs conventional farmers “will have to think harder about rotations as ways of reducing fertiliser and pesticide input.”

Australian Standard

The draft Australian Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Products has been released and is available for public comment. Standards Australia released the draft Australian Standard for public comment on July 21.

Members of the public and interested parties are encouraged to review the documents and provide feedback to Standards Australia by September 22.

Standards Australia is working towards publishing the Australian Standard by December 2008.
The Committee has also developed supporting reference material outlining the certification procedures for growers of organic and biodynamic products.

To read the draft Standard, visit the Standards Australia website at www.standards.org.au and click on Drafts for Public Comment in the left hand menu.

Employment opportunity - Organic Dairy Producers Group

The Organic Dairy Producers Group has a part-time position available for a research team leader for their project “Grow Organic Dairy”. The position is for three years.

This farmer-led research project aims to identify the key management practices of successful organic farmers. This project uses the experiential science methodology.

As research leader you would be the facilitator between the farmers and the multi disciplinary team of researchers involved in the project. Further more the research leader would be responsible for implementing the experiential science approach and play a mentoring/coaching role.

The research team leader needs to have a background in:

• Organic or sustainable farming systems (Minimum Masters degree and working experience)
• Extension, advisory and research or adaptive management (working experience)
• On-farm research or participatory research or experiential science
• Holistic or systems thinking and approaches

The research leader requires the following skills;

• Excellent communication and facilitation skills
• Pattern recognition in it’s broadest sense
• Be able to work multi disciplinary environment
• Be a practical thinker and a self starter

The closing date for this position is Friday 5 of September 2008, 12 noon. For more information contact Esther Dijkstra. Your CV and coving letter can be emailed to esther@ecoagrilogic.co.nz

Correction

In last fortnight’s OANZ News, Philippa Jamieson was mistakenly described as having written the book ‘Organic Gardening Techniques’ for a UK audience. In fact, Nick Hamilton (a UK gardener well-known for his books and a TV show) wrote the book, with Philippa editing and adapting it for a NZ readership.

Diary these dates

Growing For the Future
Upcoming events for commercial producers and home gardeners. Organised by OANZ, the Organic Dairy and Pastoral Group and Sustaining Hawke’s Bay Trust.

September 11, 2008. Field Day Demonstration. True Earth Organics, 302 Ngatarawa Rd, Hastings. Application of Field Spray Preparations that improve microbial activity, increase Organic Matter and sustain overall productivity. Andrew Seager 06 874 8713.

September 24, 2008. Growing for the Future: Vegetable & Mixed Farming Seminar ‘08.
12.30pm to 4.30pm. Havelock North Community Centre.
For more information, phone: 06 870 4942. Email: info@shbt.org.nz

September 25, 2008. Growing for the Future Seminar ‘08. Healthy Alternatives for Pastoral Farmers.’ Havelock North Community Centre. 9am - 5pm. Trade displays welcome.
For more information, phone: 06 870 4942. Email: info@shbt.org.nz.

September 18-19, 2008. Mechanical composting course. Havelock North. Join experienced biological compost creators and a trained educator in an intensive practical and theoretical course designed for commercial horticulture and viticultural producers. If you are considering using compost or already making your own, this course will be one of the best investments you can make for your business. Contact Nicole Masters for more information: www.integritysoils.co.nz  nicole@integritysoils.co.nz,  mobile: 0274 523 900. Spaces are limited.

October 9, 2008. Tour of organic input suppliers, Bay of Plenty. The Organic Vegetable and Mixed Farming Association. 10.00 am - 4 pm.
Steve and Jenny Erickson, Chaos Springs, near Waihi - composting, compost teas. Keith Attwood and Jill Bradley, Agrisea, Paeroa - liquid seaweed. Grant and Bibiana Paton, Environmental Fertilisers, Kerepehi - Reams laboratory and soil mineral balancing.
More information: Peter Bacchus 07 862 7929, mobile : 027 263 2521.
Email: pbacchus@actrix.co.nz

October 12, 2008. Workshop/field day on Organic Growing - setting up a lifestyle block for certification. 76 Webbs Rd, Amberley, Nth Canterbury. 11.30am - l2.30pm.
Speakers:
Michele Cherry and John Grater - certified organic vegetable growers. A real success story because they achieved their objective of being commercially viable but not compromising their values.
Janet Evans and Jill Stanton - The ‘can do’ team who have been developing their property using permaculture principles from scratch (building own eco house also).
Claudia and Daniel Wirth - certified poultry farmers since 2006. Determination  and commitment have enabled this couple to change from desk jobs in town to fulltime organic farmers.
Contact: Gilda at Canterbury Organic, (OFNZ). Phone 03 325 1344 or email corganic@organics.org.nz 

Organics News Roundup

A selection of recent stories on organics from news media in New Zealand and around the world.

Eco-sellers gaining momentum with mainstream buyers
Reuters 04/09/2008

The move to more sustainable, earth-friendly clothing, shoes and other consumer goods may be at a “tipping point” of mainstream acceptance, and major companies like Nike Inc and eBay Inc are recognizing their growing importance among global shoppers.

Green is now a major marketing tool, with companies from British Petroleum advertising alternative energy to Wal-Mart Stores Inc’s offering more organic goods. Moreover, the green movement is no longer the exclusive domain of the granola-eating, Birkenstock-wearing crowd, insiders say.

“I believe we’re at a tipping point in the green market,” said Marci Zaroff, president of clothing, home goods and spa line Under the Canopy, who first coined the phrase “ECOfashion.” More… http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4679843a6026.html

Organic lamb on the money
Stock & land (Australia) 04/09/2008

Organic lamb gross margins can be much higher than conventionally produced lamb and the transition does not have to be a hassle. That’s the conclusion of research into the viability and practicalities of prime lamb production by the Department of Primary Industries at Rutherglen.

The catch is that producers have to be committed, with more precise management and observation. These may seem obvious statements but researchers have now put figures on the profitability of organic lamb under a number of scenarios.

The research was part of the Naturally Victorian initiative from a few years ago, where gross margin returns for organic lamb producing systems were recorded under annual and perennial pasture finishing systems, with some supplementary feeding as a potential treatment to manage internal parasites.

An equivalent conventional lamb production system was also analysed for gross margin to provide a comparison.  The gross margin analysis did not include organic certification costs but did include the cost of pasture establishment and maintenance.
More… http://sl.farmonline.com.au/news/state/livestock/sheep/organic-lamb-on-the-money/1263258.aspx

Room for organic foods exporters in France
Market New Zealand 19/08/2008

At a time when the French complain about the decline of their purchase power and the rise of inflation, the organic market - known as being more expensive than its alternative - is still doing very well, even increasing. While the dreary economic climate has seen some French tighten their belts in some areas of spending, they are still paying a little more to have the best quality fruits and vegetables.

Proof that there is still some room for development in the organic sector is supermarket brand Monoprix which recently announced it will take over the Paris organic supermarket chain Naturalia.
Naturalia has 38 stores, employs 300 people and has reported a turnover of EUR49 million (NZ$93 billion) in 2007.

For Naturalia, the takeover is an opportunity to support its expansion and to raise the number of new stores from the current five a year to between 10 and 15 a year. Monoprix, which specialises in urban retail, appears to value Naturalia’s know-how and qualitative sourcing. More… http://www.marketnewzealand.com/MNZ/News/Story/14401/19575.aspx

Uruguay: Organic wool has become the great challenge
Mercopress.com 22/08/2008

There is a strong growing demand in the world for “organic” wool and consumers are willing to pay a bonus, which is a promising advantage for Uruguay and its textile industry, said Pedro Otegui, one of the country’s leading wool and textile exporters.

During a conference in the framework of the opening this week of the 2008/09 wool clip season and the Salto Agro Show, Mr. Otegui said this has become “a great challenge for Uruguay”, and the textile industry should take advantage of this opportunity, not only because world wide there’s a growing demand for organic produce, but also because in the coming quarter of a century the global population will increase well over 1.5 billion people.

“Consumers are increasingly demanding quality and relief that what they are buying does not alter or cause harm to the environment”, said Otegui who anticipated this will force radical changes in wool farming and in the industrial process of textiles. More… http://www.mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=14323&formato=HTML

Organic wine is twice as good for the planet
New Scientist 01/09/ 2008

Good news for eco-conscious wine connoisseurs: a little of what you fancy need not cost the Earth, but only if it’s organic.

Valentina Niccolucci and colleagues from the University of Siena, Italy, measured the resources used to grow, package and distribute wine made from Sangiovese grapes at two farms in Tuscany 30 kilometres apart. The organic farm used only natural fertilisers and pesticides, and most operations were done by hand, while the other used conventional methods of production. The team worked out the resources needed to support the making of each wine - its “eco-footprint”.

A bottle from the organic farm had an eco-footprint of 7.17 square metres, half that of the non-organic wine with a footprint of 13.98 square metres. This is because the mechanised production used more land and non-recycled glass (Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2008.05.015). More… http://environment.newscientist.com/article/mg19926714.900-organic-wine-is-twice-as-good-for-the-planet.html?DCMP=ILC-hmts&nsref=news1_head_mg19926714.900

The individual comments and views in this newsletter do not necessarily represent the view of OANZ.