We are working on this list on an ongoing basis. If you have edits or additions to suggest to this list, please be in touch with us! Contact Steph at seed@acornorganic.org.
The 2014-15 production year found the Atlantic Organic Sector meeting steady demands for growth, or in some cases, confronting more than demand for growth than can be met with existing production. Learn more about the state of the Atlantic Organic Sector in this report, including current and planned production, education and training needs, and market information.
The Newfoundland Organic Opportunities Conference took place January 13-14, 2016 in St. John's Newfoundland. The event was jointly hosted by ACORN and the Newfoundland Federation of Agriculture, and attended by over 50 people, including stakeholders in government, academia, and the non profit centre. Conference participant Dan Rubin, of Pouch Cove, kindly took notes and shared them with ACORN for distribution.
The COS and PSL were revised and updated in 2015. Thanks to COG for creating and sharing this document.
*This summary is not an official part of the Canada Organic Regime; users of this document bear ultimate responsibility for their own decisions on their operations.
From the 2013 ACORN Conference in Moncton NB. Pastured pork requires a process of trial and error. Sanitation and hygiene is one of the biggest challenges and having a good barn set up and cleaning routine is paramount. Decisions of when to put your animals on pasture and take them off help with animal nutrition and pasture longevity and health.
Paying attention to your pastures and grazing times is most important for maximising yield. Pastures provide most energy at certain stages in growth. Pigs will ruin a pasture if not taken off or put on at the wrong stage of plant growth. The mix of species in a pasture can be adjusted according to every farm and climate. Pay attention to managing pastures for best longevity and results.
In this presentation from the 2013 ACORN Conference in Moncton, Guylaine Buecheli, who farms in Quebec, discusses her and her partner’s farm and how it has grown to meet consumer demands. The couple raise pigs, cattle, and do their own processing at a butcher they co-own. More recently they’ve begun to cure and dry their own deli styled meats. Guylaine talks about the challenges they’ve faced as they expanded their business.
Alyson Chisholm has been farming in McKees Mills since 2009 when she and her partner bought the land and converted it into a working farm. The couple produce certified organic fruits and vegetables and raise dairy and meat goats. In this presentation, from the 2013 ACORN Conference in Moncton, Alyson talks about her experience raising goats for both meat and milk production. Alyson is followed by Roger Henry, a small producer from PEI, who discusses some of the barriers small milk producers face in the Maritimes. The presentation was followed by a short Q and A session.
Andrew Sedlak discusses some of the challenges facing the meat industry today at the 2017 ACORN Conference.
Continuing from Part I, Andrew Sedlak discusses the challenges facing the meat industry today and ways to adapt at the 2017 ACORN Conference.
AgPal is a web-based discovery tool to help producers and others in the agriculture and agri-business sector find the federal, provincial and territorial programs and services that specifically apply to them.
The OACC offers research srticles on soils, horticulture, field crops, livestock and other. Also, web-based courses on Composting, Organic Field Crop Production, Organic Livestock Production, Principles of Organic Horticulture and the Transition to Organic Agriculture.
Canada’s Organic Science Cluster (OSC) ran from 2009-2013, and was a collaborative effort led jointly by the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada (OACC) at Dalhousie University's Agricultural Campus and the Organic Federation of Canada (OFC). The Organic Science Cluster is part of theCanadian Agri-Science Clusters Initiative of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Growing ForwardPolicy Framework and is supported by contributions from industry partners.
The goals of the Organic Science Cluster are to facilitate a national strategic approach to organic science in Canada, link scientists across the country and disseminate the knowledge generated to organic stakeholders.
The Organic Science Cluster identified 10 sub-projects, including 30 research activities that were conducted by over 50 researchers plus 30 collaborators in approximately 45 research institutions. Activities of the Organic Science Cluster included work in fruit horticulture, agronomy, cereal crop breeding, soil fertility management, vegetable production, greenhouse production, dairy production systems, parasite control in ruminants, environmental sustainability, and food processing.
This research came at a time when there was renewed emphasis on innovation, efficiency (energy, labour, economics), and capturing value-added markets. Most of this research directed toward organic agriculture can also be applied to conventional production systems, drawing interest to this cluster from producers across Canada.
Part Two of ACORN's 3-part Webinar Series on the Canadian Organic Standards. Organic Livestock with Anne Macey - co-author COG's Organic Livestock Handbook. This webinar provides an overview of the livestock production sections of the Standards, focusing on information regarding livestock origin, feed, health care, and living conditions.
This Podcast features a workshop led by Elwood Quinn at ACORN's 2014 Conference in Halifax, NS. Speaker and long-time farmer and educator, Elwood Quinn, introduced participants to the breadth of possibilities when it comes to raising, caring, and using rare breed and heritage livestock.