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Sunday, September 6, 2009
Posted in Organics | Tagged Organics

Those following the Meat & Wool New Zealand levy referendum over the past week will know that the results were an extremely close call. Analysts will presumably scrutinize what was behind the poor turnout - and the almost 50:50 split in opinion - until the cows come home (pun intended).

What I find fascinating though is the fact that both the Yes and the No campaigns put research (and presumably the extension of research findings to farmers) right at the top of the list of what they thought levy payers want. I think we can be confident that in whatever form Meat & Wool New Zealand takes in the future, research and extension is going to be their first priority.

As a sector-good organisation charged with looking to the horizon on behalf of the beef and sheep industry I strongly urge Meat & Wool New Zealand to (in the words of the OANZ Conference theme) “Innovate: Go Organic!”. Livestock producers in New Zealand increasingly recognise that high-value, ethical production is the way forward - and that concerns about the environment, animal welfare and health are all met by certified organics - so it’s time for Meat & Wool New Zealand to team up with OANZ and help producers move to more sustainable forms of meat production.

Across the fence, New Zealand’s dairy sector is moving faster. This week OANZ member groups have been working on plans for a major organic dairy research and extension project involving Crown Research Institutes and dairy processors. At the same time, we are developing similar scale initiatives in the horticultural sector. The levy vote shows that farmers continue to value knowledge, and OANZ expects that the result will get all sector-good bodies looking to the future - by delivering much more for organics.

Nominations open for 2009 Organic Awards

OANZ has officially opened entries for the annual Organic Awards, which recognize leading organic producers, exporters, enterprises and individuals.

The Organic Awards are a unique chance to celebrate high-quality, high value organic products, and the people who create them.

Four awards will be presented on November 14, at a gala dinner during OANZ’s Organic Sector Conference. The awards are:

OANZ Organic Producer of the Year Award - This newly introduced award is designed to reward a successful certified organic producer, farming at the leading edge of environmental, economic and social sustainability.

Organic Exporter of the Year Award - Recognizing a successful organic exporter, this award honours an organization for delivering high value New Zealand-made certified organic products to international markets.

OANZ Organic Enterprise Award - Acknowledging an innovative and enterprising organization, this award pays tribute to the support and promotion of an ‘organic’ vision and values.

The Jon Manhire Award (for Outstanding Contribution to the Organic Sector) - This award celebrates a person who demonstrates excellence in their field, has made a personal commitment to organics, and who encourages others to adopt organic principles.

Interest in OANZ’s Organic Awards has grown each year since their launch in 2007. New Zealand’s best organic products are at the leading edge of environmental and economic sustainability, innovation which deserves recognition.

Nominations for the Organic Awards close on October 2. Entry forms are available from www.oanz.org.nz or by emailing awards@oanz.org.nz. Organisations and individuals can nominate themselves or others, and any member of the public can put forward nominations.

OANZ welcomes organic winegrowers

Organics Aotearoa New Zealand has welcomed Organic Winegrowers New Zealand as its newest member.

OANZ chairman Derek Broadmore notes certified organic winemaking is booming in New Zealand, and making a significant contribution to the organic sector’s continuing growth.

Mr Broadmore says Organic Winegrowers NZ is an example of how certified organics and biodynamics adds value to products which are already at the premium end of international markets.

Organic Winegrowers NZ has grown from just eight members in 2007 to more than 100 members today. It represents boutique producers such as Richmond Plains and Millton Vineyards, as well as household names which are investing in organics, including Villa Maria.

Organic Winegrowers NZ’s membership takes the total number of OANZ member organisations to 14.

Organic dairying ‘just as productive and potentially more profitable’

Healthy soil is the key to growing healthy grass, to produce healthy cows and top-quality milk on Mark and Jane Pike’s organic dairy farm near Matamata.

When Mark and Jane Pike began to convert their Waikato dairy farm to organics in the late 1990s, they were really venturing into unknown territory.

People were sceptical about how feasible it was to produce milk organically on a commercial scale. But Mark and Jane were determined to try because they were increasingly uneasy about the heavy use of fertilisers and herbicides on their farm at Waharoa, near Matamata.

Mark explains, what finally prompted them to switch to organics was an outbreak of nitrate poisoning, in which 26 cows died in a single morning. He says, “We decided there must be a better way of farming.”

A decade later, the couple have proved that organic farming methods, carried out correctly, are not only sustainable, but are also as productive as conventional farming and potentially more profitable for the farmer.

Mark stresses the soil is the “absolute key” to successful organic dairying. He and Jane have invested heavily in natural fertilisers, such as various limes, RPR, seaweed sprays and sulphur. Each year, their soil is tested as part of the Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability (ARGOS) project being run by Lincoln and Otago universities.

Mark and Jane now milk 320 cows on 130 hectares, which includes their original 65 hectares at Waharoa plus an adjoining farm, which they acquired later. The entire property is fully BioGro certified.

Mark and Jane began the conversion process to organics in 1999. At that time, BioGro did not have clear standards for livestock farmers, so Mark notes they helped write the standards as they went along.

Around the same time, Mark and Jane joined with a small group of other dairy farmers from Waikato and the Bay of Plenty to set up the Organic Dairy Producers Group. This was several years before Fonterra had any interest in organics.

The group worked hard to promote organics, with field days and discussion groups, and interest among farmers gradually grew. By 2004, there were sufficient numbers of organic dairy farmers, and those wanting to convert, to make it worthwhile for Fonterra to get into the market for organic milk.

Mark says mastitis was a “big issue” in the early years after switching to organics and they had to work hard to contain it with homeopathy and other natural treatments, such as honey, cider vinegar and seaweed supplements. He acknowledges even now, it is an ongoing challenge to keep on top of mastitis.

But each year of farming organically has seen their herd become gradually healthier.

Mark says while organics stacks up nicely from an economic viewpoint, they would still farm organically even if Fonterra was not offering a premium. Their motivation goes beyond money, to something much deeper, which is a feeling that they are farming in harmony with nature in the “old fashioned” way.

He adds, “There’s something romantic about farming the way people used to farm in the old days. We look at the big picture. It’s about much more than just payouts. And I guess there’s a bit of ego involved, too. I take a certain pride in being different.”

Mark applauds Fonterra’s commitment to organics, noting the company “took a punt” a few years ago, which has paid off. Fonterra now has about 20,000 cows in its organic programme, of which about 10,000 are fully certified and the rest are in transition.

Economics and lifestyle a great combination for organic avocado growers

Mike and Cathy Crum (and family) on their organic avocado orchard in Northland.

Mike and Cathy Crum admit they originally went into organic production of avocados primarily for commercial reasons, not as an ideology. But they add the enhanced lifestyle and “greater awareness of what we eat” have also become powerful motivators.

Mike and Cathy grow 9 hectares of avocados on two orchards at Mangatapere, west of Whangarei. The smaller of the two orchards, with 250 trees in the Otaika Valley, has already has been through a three-year conversion to achieve certification by AsureQuality.

The larger orchard, with 550 trees, on the Tatton Road property where they live, is still in the process of conversion to organics.

Mike and Cathy recently won the Hill Laboratories Harvest Award and the Gallagher Innovation Award in the 2009 Northland Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

Judges were impressed by the couple’s orchard management skills and their use of innovative techniques to create biomass and build humus levels. This includes growing kikuyu around the avocado trees, managed by a minimum mow policy. It gives the orchard a very different look to the conventional regularly mown park-like avocado orchards.

Mike notes the kikuyu only works because there is a high level of soil microbial activity, which rapidly breaks down the old grass, otherwise a thick matting of dead thatch would build up.

Living in an area of lifestyle blocks, Mike is very conscious of the timing and quantity of sprays used.

He stresses, “I try to reassure neighbours that the sprays we use are non-toxic and I also want them to know that our spray and fertiliser use is carefully planned and based strictly on the monitoring of pest and fertility levels.”

Mike is on the executive of the NZ Organic Avocado Growers Group. This is a grouping of 68 orchards either producing organically or interested in doing so. They are carrying out research, producing best practice manuals and sharing information through regular field days.  

As well as operating the two avocado blocks, Mike is involved with kiwifruit management and a beekeeping business.

He says he saw entering the Ballance awards as a way to highlight some of the organic principles they were using and “put forward some ideas” that might be useful to other growers.

He adds, since winning the awards, their orchard has been the subject of newspaper and magazine stories and also featured on TV.

“It made us realise that the Ballance Farm Environment Awards have become a really big thing.”

He will certainly be encouraging other orchardists to enter this year’s competition.

Entries for the Northland 2010 Ballance Farm Environment Awards opened this week. For more information, contact Gayle Farrell, phone 09 433 1576, email northland@bfea.org.nz

TIME Magazine backs organics to feed world

TIME Magazine writer Bryan Walsh has angered the mainstream food lobby in the United States with a cover story promoting the benefits of organic food production, to feed the world sustainably.

TIME Magazine itself has been fiercely criticised by agri-business groups for publishing the story, which came out overwhelmingly on the side of organics over conventional farming.

In his article, “Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food”, Walsh cites studies that show it would be possible to feed the world with organic farming but it would require a lot more human labour on farms.

In response to critics who claim organics can’t feed the world, he says “We haven’t really tried it.”

Walsh notes big companies are now taking an interest in organics, which he predicts will lead to a scaling up of organic production around the world to meet growing consumer demand.

He adds that his article was not intended to attack conventional farming interests but rather to urge the world to pay more attention to the system of producing food, and its impact on the planet.

“I feel like one of the problems with the system as it is today is … we don’t think enough about trying to get more healthy food to consumers, and for consumers themselves to take more care in the food they get. It’s what I wish some people would take out of (my article).”

Read the full TIME Magazine article here »

Zespri Green Organic returns down

Zespri’s early forecasts on average returns for the 2009/10 kiwifruit season have pegged a small decline in orchard gate returns (OGR) for the Green and Green Organic brands, but a increase in Gold returns.

Average OGR for Zespri Green is forecast at $3.42, down 7 percent from last season. Green Organic returns are down 8 percent to $5.79, and Gold is up 33 percent to $7.21.
(US$4.93).

Total payments (excluding loyalty premium) for Green are $6.88, down 2.5 percent from 2008/09. Green Organic went down 5 percent to $8.81 and Gold went up 20 percent to $11.67.

Zespri CEO Lain Jager says this year’s decline is not surprising, given the performance of global markets.

“We’re experiencing the same conditions as all other fruit marketers are globally,” he explains. “We’ve had flat volume performance on last year - there’s not a lot of growth - and general pressure on pricing in markets.”

Invitation to comment on BioGro’s Draft Retail Standard

BioGro New Zealand has recently developed a draft Retail Standard.

This standard is for retailers of certified organic products and is designed to guarantee the integrity of organic products from the producer through to the consumer. It sets out the management requirements and audit criteria for the certification and licensing of retailers by BioGro.

The draft standard was developed by BioGro’s Retail Standard working group, which includes
representatives from the Organic Traders Association, Safe Food Campaign, the NZBPCC, BioGro certification staff and auditors.

BioGro invites comment on the the draft standard, which can be viewed at www.biogro.co.nz. The deadline for comments is September 30.

Survey on genetic engineering and organic agriculture

New Zealand organic producers are being urged to take part in a survey on the organic sector’s attitudes to genetic engineering, by a Massey University Masters student.

So far, 97 producers have completed the survey by Electra Kalaugher, which aims to examine whether there have been any changes in the perception of genetic engineering in the organic sector, compared with a similar study carried out 10 years ago.

All New Zealand certified organic producers are invited to participate in the survey, which closes on September 10. It can be completed online through the OANZ website at http://www.oanz.org.nz/node/111.

For more information, contact Electra Kalaugher by email at ecologymatters@xtra.co.nz or phone 09 372 6933.

Diary these dates

September 8, 10, 16, 17, 18 and 22. Homeopathy For Dairy, Drystock And Sheep Farmers.
A series of seminars run by Homeopathic Information Services.
September 8 - mastitis, lameness and calving. Cambridge Health and Community Centre.
September 10 - fertility and mastitis. Rurtec, George St, Hikurangi.
September 16 - fertility and mastitis. War Memorial Centre, Miranda St, Stratford.
September 17 - fertility and mastitis. St David’s Lounge, Corner Main & Rainfort St, Palmerston North.
September 18 - mastitis, lameness, calving problems, condition score, increased milk production, trials, new remedies. The Galloways’ 5122 State Highway 2, RD2, Hawke’s Bay.
September 22 - fertility and mastitis. Cambridge Health & Community Centre 22A Taylor St.

More information is available from Tineke Verkade of Homeopathic Information Services. Phone 07 8584233 or email hfs@xtra.co.nz

September 11, 2009. Biodynamic Orchard Workshop. Jeannie Laing’s orchard, 263 Rea Rd Kati Kati BOP. Compost making, orchard walk, planting calendar. More information: Jack Wanklyn, phone: 06 862 5484 Email: jack.wanklyn@xtra.co.nz or Jenny Laing, phone: 07 549 1220.

September 21-23 and October 19-21, 2009. Three-day courses on biological soil management. Run by Nicole Masters of Integrity Soils at Waipukurau, Hawkes Bay. These courses combine science with practical experience, including the important role of different soil organisms; soil test interpretation; fertiliser programming for success; the relationship between soil and pests, weeds and disease, and much more. More information: Nicole Masters: 0274 523 900
nicole@integritysoils.co.nz or visit www.integritysoils.co.nz. 

October 5, 2009. Biodynamic Pasture Farming Field Day. Nick & Gerrie Cole, share milkers on
Kathleen and Mike Long’s organic dairy farm, 183 Larsons Road, Eketahuna. Programme includes cow manure compost making, farm walk and soil observation, and preparation 500 & 501 mixing and application. More information: Kathleen and Mike Long 06 3748009 or email: Longfarm@inspire.co.nz.

October 19, 2009. Organic horticulture courses begin at the BHU Lincoln.
Full-time and part-time options. Practical hands-on training. NZQA unit standard based qualifications. National Certificate in Horticulture Levels 2 & 4.
More information: Bill Martin 03 325 3684. Email: college@bhu.co.nz. Website: www.bhu.co.nz.

October 20-22, 2009. Orchard & Arable Sustainable Nutrient Management Course. Massey University. More information: Lance Currie, L.D.Currie@massey.ac.nz

November 13-15, 2009. Second National Organic Conference (organised by OANZ). University of Waikato. Theme: “Innovate: Go Organic!” The conference will focus on innovative ways to produce, market, and use organic products.
Registration and more information: www.goorganic.org.nz.

Organics News Roundup

Juice ‘dries up’ as Charlie’s posts second annual loss
BusinessWire 28/08/2009

Charlie’s Group Ltd., the juice-maker formed by Simply Squeezed founder Stefan Lepionka and entertainer Marc Ellis, reported another full-year loss on rising costs as the company expanded into Australia and ran down deleted products.

The Auckland-based owner of Charlie’s and Phoenix Organics brand drinks reported a net loss of NZ$1.8 million, or 0.63 cents a share, in the 12 months ended June 30. That’s wider than the previous year’s loss of NZ$425,000, or 0.15 cents.

“Our internal focus is to consolidate and take a conservative approach to the new financial year in order to generate profits regardless of the challenges within the current economic climate,” said chief executive Lepionka in a statement. “Australia continues to be a large opportunity and growth market for the group and as such, is commanding much focus in the current financial year.”  More… http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0908/S00807.htm

The honey lover’s friend
The Press 27/08/2009

Kiwis love honey. But most of the time we just scoop anonymous blends out of a huge tub to smear on toast. That’s all going to change if Jeremy Friend has his way. Soon, says the owner of New Zealand Artisan Honey, which is based in Christchurch, we’ll be used to hunting down a beechwood honeydew, vintage 2009, from north Canterbury, as the perfect match for a dessert of mascarpone and figs.

It’s Friend’s mission to introduce New Zealanders to the delights of single-flower, single-vintage, organic honey. Each jar of honey, gently filtered and stirred (slowly, for five days) at his Worcester St workshop, boasts a label stating the specific floral varietal source, the vintage and where the bees lived. Honey lovers can look up more details on the company’s website. More… http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/2804145/The-honey-lovers-friend

India targets US$1 billion organic cotton sales
Ecotextile News 28/08/2009

India has set itself a target of US$1 billion worth of organic product sales by 2012 as it looks to capitalise on its already booming production capacity.

The government has appointed a special agency under the Union agriculture ministry - called the National Centre for Organic Farming - to undertake the project, with one of the first moves likely to be a huge increase in areas under certified organic farming to two million hectares.

Although the 2012 target may appear high, the government’s confidence is based on the sector’s rapid growth over the last few years. Overall, India currently markets 90 organic products in 15 different categories with 2008 sales reaching US$100 million, up from US$25 million in 2005. The main export markets are Europe and the US.

With cotton already accounting for the largest market share, at about 25%, India should have few problems in finding the right land. About 60% of the agricultural land is said to be organic by default with the intensive use of chemicals in agriculture largely concentrated in the country’s irrigated areas, which make up the remaining 40%. More… http://www.ecotextile.com/news_details.php?id=1028

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