Money talks, organic walks - for now

When University of Guelph crop science professor Ann Clark spoke at a meeting of the Ecological Farmers of Ontario late last year, she told growers they must protect themselves from the world of biotechnology.

Non-genetically engineered seed could become a scarce commodity in the very near future; the organic movement could be susceptible to attack from life-science companies - and those benefiting from their patronage - who will view organic farming as a threat.

She told farmers to be ready for the heavy hitters, especially in light of growing consumer interest in organic foodstuffs.

The news, however, wasn't all doom and gloom: Organic producers could fill the vacuum created in the non-biotech seed trade and build greater respect for the products they produce.

The merits of biotechnology are always open for debate. But there is a growing consensus in farm commodity markets that biotech cropping will push commodity and produce prices lower, leaving farmers and input suppliers to divvy up the cash generated by improved yields and reduced inputs to maintain margins.

Price has always been organic produce's Achilles heel, and unless production methods and the physical appearance of much of the produce improve, organic producers can ill afford tougher competition from biotech crops.

Even when organic or natural products have been able to capture public attention they've often failed to succeed. When BST was approved four years ago in the U.S., marketers promised to flood the market with products produced from non-BST treated cows. But most of the fledgling products were left on the shelf by consumers refusing to pay premiums for the product - Ben & Jerry's ice cream being a shining exception.

SweetRipe Drinks of Mississauga hoped to tap into the eco-conscious market last year when it launched Allen's Ecological brand apple juice in Ontario. But after paying growers a 10 per cent premium for ecologically grown apples, SweetRipe quickly realized consumers weren't interested in paying a premium - $2.79 per 1.36 litre bottle, $1 more than its flagship Allen's Pure Unsweetened cans. The ecological brand is off shelves.

A recent tour through organic displays at several Mississauga supermarkets revealed the same price barrier: Organic Red and Golden Delicious apples sold for $1.99 per pound, more than twice the price of the conventionally grown varieties. Other produce carries similarly hefty premiums.

In her presentation to growers, Clark asserted that biotechnology has not proven profitable for conventional farmers. Many would agree with her. The real test for the technology will come in the years ahead, when innovations such as Bt corn will prove both technology proponents and protagonists either right and wrong.

But if the sky doesn't fall, will organic farmers be able to grab the attention they need to grow their industry? Unfortunately, most consumers are only willing to listen when the price is right. - Bernard Tobin, with files from Joanne Bregman

© copyright 1999 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.


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Rally seeks relief info

Thirteen-year-old Eline Peters shivers on a frigid late December day in downtown Woodstock. Bundled inside her coat is a newborn piglet.

The fresh-faced farm girl cuddling the cute, defenseless piglet provides the perfect photo op as urban media cameras whir and click, and Eline's father, Embro pork producer Matthew Peters, demands answers from assembled on the pork crisis.

Stamping his feet from frustration as much as the cold, Peters gets no insights into the promised relief package. But the rally of a handful of producers and three live pigs at Woodstock MPP Ernie Hardemann's office in Woodstock, a mini version of the Dec. 1 provincial rally at Queen's Park, serves to vent producer rage without creating a public relations nightmare.

"It's far better and proactive than what I saw on TV," Hardemann tells pork producers, referring to live pig dropoffs at a Lambton MPP's office and at the London Humane Society, prompting a plea to the public for heat lamps and extension cords.

Conscious of the Ontario pork board's discouragement of live pig protests, the Woodstock rally organizers keep off the street. "No one could have predicted the magnitude of the current price meltdown," Oxford County Pork Producers president John DeBruyn tells Hardemann, with a weaner and market hog in a pickup as a backdrop. "The government must spell out its proposals for disaster relief now."

Hardemann, a former feed dealer, is short on details, but familiar enough with agriculture to tell growers that "we're not going to solve this problem just by sending out cheques in February. We need to address a long-term solution."

Despite producers' dire straits, the pre-Christmas rally has its bright side. Asked whether the porcine charge bundled inside his daughter's coat has had any accidents, Peters grins and unbuttons her coat snap. This pig's wearing Pampers. - John Muggeridge

© copyright 1999 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.


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Aid program underway

Ontario farmers can expect to find an Ontario Whole Farm Relief Program application in their mail box any day now.

All producers with a farm registration number will receive an application, but only farmers with 1998 gross margins falling below 70 per cent of the previous three-year average will be eligible for the program.

OMAFRA director of policy analysis Dave Hope says returned applications will be dealt with on a first-come, first-serve basis. The Ontario program, which is part of the $1.5-billion national income aid program, is valued at $40 million and will make an interim payment to farmers in February.

Hope emphasizes that a whole farm program means "farmers will provide information on all farm businesses they participate in" as an owner-operator.

Hope adds that the ministry does not have access to Revenue Canada files, so the onus is on producers to provide complete and accurate financial information. "It won't be necessary for farmers to have their income tax fully figured out for 1998. They can still give us enough information that would allow us to approximate gross margins and calculate interim payments." Any further adjustments can be accounted for when the final payment is mailed out, he says.

The government will need to know if there have been any significant changes in farmer's inventories and payable and receivable accounts.

Hope says farmers can assist the process by ensuring their application forms are "as complete as possible." The government plans to mail cheques to farmers next month.

Details on availability of the $900 million federal portion of the national program are still being sorted out.

Hope says his department is trying to make the provincial and national programs as seamless as possible and eliminate the need for farmers to submit the same information to both levels of government. Farmers will have to wait until at least April for federal assistance. - Bernard Tobin

© copyright 1999 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.


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Marsh marketing

Ontario's onion and carrot growers are finding new homes for their products and leading the charge is Teri Seymour, a muck vegetable marketing maverick.

The Ontario MarshGrown Project was launched mid-December with the announcement of a $321,000 matching grant from the Rural Job Strategy Fund. Remaining funding was provided by about 200 producers, members of the Bradford and District, Thedford and Grand Bend Vegetable Growers Associations, and marsh vegetable processors, says Seymour, who will help co-ordinate the effort.

Ontario produces an average of 160 million pounds of onions and 215 million pounds of carrots a year,according to OMAFRA figures. Growers want to expand their markets and find new homes for their products, says Seymour.

The MarshGrown project has three main objectives: get people to eat more marsh-grown vegetables; bring greater co-operation to the marsh vegetable industry; and work with retailers to raise the profile of the products.

The campaign will focus on onions and carrots, grown on 4,000 and 3,500 acres respectively of the 10,000 acres of marsh land in Ontario.

The project grew out of the results of a 1997 grower survey undertaken by the Bradford and District association. Seymour says the 20-year-old association had "accomplished a lot of what growers wanted accomplished" in the last three years and wants to know growers' goals for the future.

The project will be "piggy-backing on the Foodland Ontario program," the advantage being that Ontario consumers are already familiar with the Foodland symbol, says Seymour. There won't be any specific MarshGrown identity for the public, she says.

Co-operation with manufacturers has led to at least one odd marriage. Oetker Ltd. manufactures a mix for chocolate carrot cake called Added Touch, a Shirriff brand. "I called the brand manager and had a few meetings and, next thing you know, we had a joint promotion," she says.

Carrots will be displayed alongside Added Touch products, with a 75-cent coupon if customers buy one five-pound bag of carrots and two Added Touch products.

Another partnership is with the Beef Information Centre. Carrots are part of BIC's "Come Home to Beef" promotion in which customers can win an indoor grill and $150 worth of beef. McCormick is promoting its "Bag'n Season" pot roast, consisting of a roasting bag and seasoning package to which vegetables, including carrots, are added.

Getting product promotion that ties in with other parts of the grocery store, produce with meat, for example, can be a tough task, says Seymour.

The project is sponsoring a retail display contest between January and March in grocery stores across Ontario for the best presentation of onions and carrots, with a bonus prize for the best use of a brand name product display alongside the vegetables. - Christina Selby

© copyright 1999 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.


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