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OCO's Annual General Meeting
We want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who joined us for OCO’s 2023 Annual General Meeting on Zoom!
Board, Staff, and Members alike gathered to elect our new Board of Directors and review OCO's activities. The meeting concluded with three engaging breakout rooms that sparked a lot of inspiring ideas and feedback. In the afternoon, OCO Board and Staff teams met with 16 MPPs from all over the province to engage with them about the organic sector and the possibilities of provincial regulation. The full 2023 AGM Minutes can be accessed here.
The election results are as follows:
- Producer Category: Dean Martin
- Value Chain (Certified) Category: Lauren Stallard (on behalf of Pfenning's Organic Vegetables)
- At-Large Category: Krysten Cooper, Rob Wallbridge, Norm Hansen, Ruth Knight
We are thrilled to welcome Dean Martin to our Board of Directors! He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in organic farming that will be invaluable to the Organic Council of Ontario.
We’d like to take a moment to thank all of our Board members for their incredible commitment, passion, and dedication to Ontario’s organic sector. Their service has been invaluable in helping OCO develop and reach its goals as Ontario’s Voice for Organics. Click here to read their bios!
We would like to give special thanks to all nominees who stepped up to support the Organic Council of Ontario! |
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Ontario Organic Consumer Survey
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OCO is looking to learn more about Ontario organic consumers with our consumer survey. You can enter to win prizes upon completion of the survey, so if you're a consumer, be sure to have your say! Please share the survey with your consumer network!
Click here to take the Ontario Organic Consumer Survey today!
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Organic Grain Surveys
Do you wish you knew more about organic pricing and acreage? Do you wish organic crop insurance premiums would reflect your actual prices? OCO has been working for more organic data transparency for field crop and grain producers. In order to do so, we've created two surveys - one for organic field crop producers and one for dealers.
Organic Producers Survey - If you produce organic soy, corn, wheat, small grains or edible beans, your input in needed! We will only ask for it once a year and you'll get the aggregated data from producers across the province! The deadline is April 30th.
Organic Grain Dealers Survey - If you buy, sell, trade, or store organic soy, corn, wheat, small grains or edible beans, this survey is for you. Please complete and share with carolyn@organiccouncil.ca and data@organiccouncil.ca by April 30th.
No individual results will be shared beyond OCO staff; aggregate results will be shared back with producers and dealers who complete the survey. The producer survey will be annual as we hope to build a robust data set for our members. Dealer surveys will be more frequent to capture key pricing information during harvest seasons.
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Applications are Open for COTA's Organic Transition Program
Are you a farmer in your first, second, or third year of pre-certification or a certified organic farmer looking to increase your organic acreage?
The Canada Organic Trade Association's (COTA) Organic Transition Program assists organic producers financially with the added costs incurred while transitioning to organic farming. Check out their website for information on eligible reimbursements and to apply!
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Funds for Organic Price Discovery Tool from the Manitoba Organic Development Fund
A digital marketing tool to help organic farmers find buyers and discover prices for their crops has been funded in the first dispersal from the Manitoba Organic Development Fund. Check out OrganicBiz' full article here.
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Diversity by Design
The results of Diversity by Design: emergent agricultural technologies for small-scale farming, a research project led by researchers at the University of Ottawa, have been shared. The project focuses on the use of digital agriculture by small farmers in Eastern Ontario and West Quebec. You can check out the full project here.
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Sustain Ontario's New Food Literacy Education Website
Sustain Ontario has released its new website, Food is Science! This website is designed to help support teachers introduce food literacy education! The website consists of a suite of lesson plans, learning videos, related readings, and student resources that allow educators to learn and teach about food and food systems in Grades 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Check out Food is Science here.
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Discover new products and enjoy special offers from some of your favourite natural, organic and sustainable brands, all under one roof. If you are interested in healthy/natural options for your family, you won't want to miss the Healthy Moms Toronto Marketplace, taking place April 30th at Artscape Wychwood Barns (St. Clair and Christie Street, Midtown Toronto)! Grab your tickets today!
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These and other important facts can be found in OCO's Data Portal! OCO members can access data, research and reports on the organic sector by logging into OCO's Data Portal. If you need support accessing your account, please contact communications@organiccouncil.ca
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Want to be a part of the science? Dr. Yasser Ghoreishi, a Professor at Seneca College, and Dr. Yves Robichaud, full professor at Laurentian University, are conducting a research project to evaluate the perceptions of farmers in Ontario regarding the motives for self-employment, the indicators for measuring success and investigating the barriers faced by farmers in Ontario. If you are a farmer, please fill out the survey here.
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Classifieds
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