Grow Organic - increasing certified organic acres

• Thinking About Organic Farming?

> Transition to Organic Advisor Program

• Support for Organic Farmers

> COG Publications and Other Resources

> Workshops

> Sourcing Certified Organic Seed

• Support for Organic Gardeners

Thinking About Organic Farming?

If you're considering getting into organic farming, you are probably full of questions - COG PWW is here to get you answers. We offer a mentoring program and workshops to support farmers transitioning to organic. Read through our Thinking About Organic Farming pamphlet and What Is Organic Certification information sheet and contact us with any questions about organic farming or the certification process.

Transition to Organic Advisor Program

COG PWW has launched a new program to support farmers interested in transition. We are working with a team of certified organic farmers throughout southwestern Ontario to provide individual support to new or experienced farmers to support you through each stage of the transition process, including record keeping and paper work. Support can happen over the phone, email, on your farm or the advisor's farm, and can also include recommending resources and training and helping you network with other certified organic farmers in your area. It also includes group workshops and farm tours at each of the advisors' farms.

The program is offered free of charge for 2010 as this is our pilot season! If you are interested in more details, please contact us.

If you are ready to get started, please contact one of our advisors below.

• Small-scale produce and fruit (<5 acres) - Theresa Schumilas, Garden Party, 519-885-8775, email

• Large-scale produce (>5 acres) - Gavin Dandy, Everdale Organic Farm, 519-855-4859 x104, email

• Livestock (large and small) and field crops - Sean McGivern, Grass Roots Organics Eco Farm & Market, 519-794-4445, email

• Diary, livestock, and field crops - Martin Degroot, Mapleton's Organic Farm, 519-638-1115, email

 

Support for Organic Farmers

While we hope to increase certified organic acreage, we also focus efforts on supporting our current organic farmers. COG PWW offers such support in many ways: publications and other resources, workshops, and promotion to consumers through our Local Organic Farm Directory and other awareness-raising projects.

COG Publications and Other Resources

COG publishes technical manuals for farmers and gardeners that are read around the globe. All of our publications are developed by experts and field tested with farmers and gardeners. See a complete list of manuals here.

             

New Practical Skills Handbooks coming soon:

 

• Record-Keeping for Organic Farmers: How to get and stay certified

 

• Growing Strawberries Organically

 

• Scaling Up Organically

 

COG has also produced a Guide to Understanding the Canada Organic Standards to make interpretation a bit easier. There are separate documents for each part of the standards:

General Principles and Management Standards

Permitted Substances List

Workshops

COG PWW offers workshops each winter based on COG's publications. Check out our Events page for upcoming workshops in your area.

Or, if you have a group of 5 or more farmers interested in a workshop in the Perth, Waterloo, Wellington or surrounding areas, contact us.

We offer the following workshops:

• Intro to Transition
• Transitioning the Small Produce Farm
• Transition to Organic Crop Production
• Transition to Organic Livestock Production
• Record Keeping for Organic Farmers
• Crop Planning for the Vegetable Grower
• Growing Potatoes Organically

 

Sourcing Certified Organic Seed

Certified organic farms naturally require certified organic seed. COG PWW has compiled a list of Ontario sources for certified organic seeds, recognizing that it can sometimes be a challenge to find the particular variety you want.

 

Support for Organic Gardeners

With input from local organic market gardeners, COG PWW produced a gardener-specific resource to support those who want to grow their own food organically. The Organic Backyard: A guide to applying organic farming practices to your home or community garden outlines organic growing principles and details organic methods of building soil fertility, managing pests and diseases, and controlling weeds.

This resource is available as a free download or you can contact us for details on purchasing a printed and bound copy.

We ran a series of organic gardening workshops for community gardeners in spring 2010, and promote similar workshops held by farms or other groups, so be sure to check our Events page for upcoming organic gardening workshops in your area.