There may soon be a new product in the dairy section at the grocery store – organic milk produced right at home in Canada’s smallest province.
There is already an active organic dairy club that is working with two of the Island’s major dairies studying the feasibility of establishing a commercial organic dairy. Now, the club has partnered with the Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network (ACORN) to offer a one-day symposium March 1 at the Howard Johnston Dutch Inn in Cornwall. The event is being held in conjunction with ACORN’s regional convention.
The Prince Edward Island ADAPT Council, which administers the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food (ACAAF) program for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, is contributing $25,650 towards the cost of the symposium. ACAAF is a national funding program designed to help implement innovative projects that will benefit the production and processing sector, bolster the industry’s capacity to address current and emerging issues and position the agriculture and agri-food industry to seize new market opportunities.
“There is a fair bit of interest in organic dairy production in all three provinces but especially in Prince Edward Island,” said Matthew Holmes, the acting ACORN executive director. He said the session will provide existing organic producers and those thinking of making the switch from conventional production with information on making the transition. It will also address production, marketing and distribution concerns faced by the industry.
Holmes said the symposium has attracted two keynote speakers. John Cleary is the dairy pool coordinator for Organic Valley, a producer co-operative based in Lafarge, Wisconsin. Organized in 1988, it represents 922 farmers in 27 states and one Canadian province and realized a record $320 million in 2006 sales. Focused on its founding mission of keeping small and mid-sized farmers farming, Organic Valley produces over 200 organic foods, including organic milk, soy milk, cheese, butter, spreads, creams, eggs, produce and juice, which are sold in supermarkets, natural foods stores and food cooperatives across the United States. The farmers who produce Organic Valley foods also produce a full range of organic meat under the Organic Prairie label.
“It will be a real opportunity for producers from the region to learn from one of the most successful organic dairy co-operatives in the world,” Holmes said.
As well, Ted Zettel of Organic Meadow Co-operative Dairy in Ontario will address the delegates. The co-operative actually began growing certified organic grains in 1989 and the dairy was added in 1995. Holmes said their products are already on store shelves throughout the Maritimes, and Halifax is their largest market outside of Ontario.
(This is one of a series of articles prepared by the PEI Agricultural Awareness Committee and funded by the PEI ADAPT Council and other partners to highlight new and innovative developments in the province's farming community.)
For more information contact Phil Ferraro, ADAPT Council, (902) 368-2005.