| | Alberta’s 350 organic producers can’t meet the growing demand. Here’s what prospective new entrants need to know.
Normally, the laws of supply and demand do a pretty fair job of regulating agricultural production. When demand rises, farmers produce more supply. When demand falls, farmers take the hint and produce less.
For years, however, one element of agricultural production has consistently seen greater demand than available supply. Alberta’s 350 organic producers – who grow everything from grains to dairy to beef to vegetables – can’t begin to approach the level of demand for their products. In fact, 80% of organic food products in Alberta stores are imported from other countries.
According to Keri Sharpe, Business Development Specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development in Stony Plain, much more organic production is needed.
“In 2006, sales of organic food products in Alberta rose 44% from the previous year,” says Sharpe. “Organic production didn’t increase anywhere near 44%, so there’s a widening gap between the volume of organic products consumers want to buy and what’s produced here in Alberta. We won’t begin to close the demand-supply gap until we produce more.”
What consumers are thinking
Twenty years ago, organic food products were almost the exclusive domain of specialized “health food” stores. For today’s Alberta consumers, organic products are as close as the nearest Safeway, Superstore or farmers’ market. The buyer is no longer the ‘hippie’ of ancient stereotype, but middle-class rural, urban and suburban families. What does the extra cost of organic buy them?
Seven Alberta dairies are moving to organic production as part of an Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development and Alberta Milk Producers' initiative.
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