Organic Facts & Fiction

Organic agriculture has been around for a long time. In fact before the 1950's, when pesticides and chemical fertilizers were introduced, every Island farmer was an organic producer, yet today many people and even some conventional farmers have misconceptions about organic agriculture. To clarify things we have listed five of the most common msiconceptions and below them the facts about organic production.

The five most common misconceptions are:

Organic farmers cannot use any fertilizer: NOT

In fact organic farmers can use a wide range of approved soil fertility products that replace many of the chemical fertilizers used on non organic farms. Organic farmers are allowed to use sulfated potash, soft rock phosphate, approved fish fertilizers and plowdowns to maintain soil fertility.

Organic farmers are not allowed to use any pesticide: NOT

Organic farmers are not allowed to use any systemic pesticides (enters the plant systems) but are allowed to use approved natural pest control products such as some Bts, beneficial insects, some compost teas, some copper based products for blight control and other products that have been approved by Organic Materials Review Institute and are registered by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency for pest and disease control.

All land must wait for three years before it can be certified: NOT exactly

An international standard has been agreed upon that demands all land to be free of chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizers for at least three years before producing a crop that can be certified organic. Many farmers have at least some fields that have not received any prohibited substances for at least one year in their regular rotation and therefore need only to wait two more years to produce a certified organic crop.

Certification is very expensive: NOT

Certification costs vary depending on the certification agency. Some certification agencies have regional recognition in the market place others have international recognition. If you plan to market your products in the Maritime Provinces you should consider certifiying with a regional agency that is able to certify for under $300 (see our organic links page). As one would expect, if you need to be able to ship products internationally it will cost you more.

Organic farmers only sell directly (farm gate or farmers market) to consumers: NOT

Several Island producers are selling to brokers and to large food retails. The market place is changing very rapidly and large retailers are playing a larger and larger role in marketing organic products. The large retailers are raising the profile of organic food but it must be kept in mind it costs money to sell into the large markets. In these markets unit prices tend to be lower but the volumes are higher. Non direct or wholesale marketing tends to be more attractive to the larger growers.