Organic Agriculture 101 What is Organic?

Growing food organically is the oldest method of agriculture known. Before synthetic chemicals, genetic engineering, and thousand-acre farms came to be the popular way to produce food, people produced what they needed using nature-led processes. Organic farming today brings us back to those traditions, but allows us to take advantage of modern society. The basic characteristics of organic farming are:

• No synthetic chemicals. At no point in the production, processing or storage of organic food are synthetic chemicals used. This includes pesticides, fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics in livestock, and chemical cleaning agents for tools and equipment.

• No genetically engineered organisms (GMO). Genetic engineering is a system of plant and animal breeding that transfers genes from different species (eg. fish genes to a tomato). In nature, genes from different species cannot cross, and this technology has not been adequately tested for long-term implications to human or environmental health. It has been shown to decrease genetic diversity – nature’s resilience to disease, pests, and environmental stress (eg. drought). Organics use only traditionally bred organisms (open-pollinated and hybrids).

• Soil building techniques. Organic farming recognizes that the hardest garden workhorses are the bugs in the soil. By “feeding” the worms, centipedes, and microscopic bacteria, they in turn help feed plants in our gardens and keep unwanted bugs (pests) away. Using techniques such as crop rotation, green manures (plow down crops), and adding compost or manure to gardens encourages the soil biota to flourish.

• Pest and disease control. Techniques such as hand weeding, companion planting, beneficial insect habitat, trap crops, mulching, and physical barriers are used to control pest problems for which conventional agriculture uses chemicals. Combined with soil building techniques, pest problems are kept at minimum. • Genetic diversity. Planting one type of potato can mean entire crop failure if it happens to be the one the blight attacks. This is exactly what happened in Ireland during the famous Potato Famine that cost the lives of millions. By planting a diverse range of crops and varieties organic farming is more resilient to pest attacks and disease.

What is Organic Certification?

The stamp on certified organic products guarantees that they have been grown and processed in adherence to specified standards that the certifying body uses. There are many different certifying bodies – some regionally based, some national, some

international. Each has different standards, but generally agree on the basics of organic farming listed in What is Organic?. FBC is certified by the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) – an internationally recognized certifying body. Their standards require that we:

• Maintain accurate field records describing the day-to-day activities in the gardens, the sources of our off-farm inputs (manure, seeds, planting stock), and the sale of our products.

• Go through annual application for certification which includes an on-site evaluation by a third party inspector.

• Adhere to their regulations for restricted and prohibited inputs by referring to their standards book and consulting with OCIA regarding alternative techniques for pest control and crop management.

FBC has hosted two organic inspector training courses (2000 and 2005), delivered by the Independent Organic Inspectors Association (IOIA). These courses are an intensive 4-day classroom and field site training for individuals who want to learn more about the inspection and organic certification process, and those who want to be inspectors themselves. Most certification bodies hire independent inspectors, and recognize the IOIA training as an integral component to skill-building and preparedness.

There are a few different certifying bodies used in the Atlantic region – look for their labels:

Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) – New Brunswick/PEI/Newfoundland/Nova Scotia chapters Chapter Administrator: Susan Tyler 2002 Cedar Camp Rd. South Branch, NB E4E 5E7 Tel: 506-433-3935 Fax: 506-432-9435 E-mail: ocianb@nbnet.nb.ca

Maritime Certified Organic Growers (MCOG) President: Ted Wiggans 149 Frog Lake Road Harvey, NB E6K 2E1 Tel: (506) 366-3410 Fax: (506) 784-6822 c/o Louise Wiggans E-Mail: wiggans@nbnet.nb.ca

OCCP/Pro-Cert Canada Inc. - Eastern Office Contact: Larry Lendhart Operations Centre 2311 Elm Tree Road P.O. Box 74, Cambray, ON K0M 1E0 Tel: 877-867-4264 E-mail: ocpp@lindsaycomp.on.ca

Quality Assurance International QAI (Quality Assurance International) is a leading USDA-accredited organic product certifying agency. Email: jlackie@qai-inc.com Canada Organic Trade Organization (COTO) The Canadian Organic Trade organization promotes and protects the growth of organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public and the economy. Tel: 613-482-1717 Email: mholmes@ota.com

The ‘Canada Organic ’ label — is an assurance that the product bearing it has met the Canadian government's regulatory requirements for organic products.

Finding Organics in Your Community

We often get inquiries from people in New Brunswick look for sources of organic food or farms in their areas. There are a few on-line directories that are a good place to start, listed below. Remember, even if there isn't a farm market close by, or an independent grocery down the street, you can take action by making your search public! Try putting an ad in the local want ads, or posters at the farm market. Also, the certifying bodies listed above or your closest agriculture station/centre may help you find a supplier from their contacts.

ACORN Organic Food Database ACORN's (Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network) Organic Resource Directory lists producers, processors, certifying bodies, retailers, suppliers, distributors, government and NGO’s, food services, consultants, and media involved with organics in all of the Atlantic provinces. The directory is set up to search by keyword, narrowing the selection criteria by province, type, etc.

COG Directory of Organics in Canada The Canadian Organic Growers (COG) has issued a resource directory, similar to ACORN’s but extended to cover all of Canada. Contact info is organized by province and category.

NB Farmer's Markets Tourism New Brunswick has listed the many farm markets located across the province.

Canadian Organic Growers of New Brunswick (COG-NB) Provide a network for the organic sector in New Brunswick to promote production and consumption of local, organic products. Tel: (506) 367-2781 E-mail: herbert6@nb.sympatico.ca