COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • SEPTEMBER 2018
Organic pioneers reflect on growth,
changes in sector New entrants need to be growing community, not just food
by PETER MITHAM ABBOTSFORD – Wildfires,
flooding, illness – when farm families are in need, neighbours are there. It’s one of the draws of rural life, even in communities that are sometimes too close for comfort. But keeping community in
agriculture was one of the challenges three pioneers of organic farming in BC singled out as they reflected on the past quarter-century at the 25th annual conference of the Certified Organic Associations of BC in Abbotsford earlier this year. “The most paramount piece is acknowledging the profound effect that happens when a lot of people with similar minds come together, have each others’ backs and forge forward,” said Susan Davidson, a founding member of the BC Association of Regenerative Agriculture (BCARA) in 1986 and an owner of Glorious Organics Co-op in Aldergrove. “We were a community, and we cared about each other, we played together, we worked together, we shared information and we started an organization to formally take us into where we are now.” Davidson named an honour roll of pioneers besides herself, names familiar to many: Harvie Snow, Fred Reid, Bernice Neff and Mary Forstbauer. Yet the initial aim of everyone was to collaborate and learn to farm in a way that would renew the earth. “We had this constitution
for several years, and it was to promote closer contact and exchange of ideas and experience among growers interested in a regenerative approach,” she said. But when the idea of
certification came into play, Davidson said collaboration gave way to compliance. Ultimately, certification became enmeshed in national and international schemes that were a world removed from the original spirit of the movement. “[It] made sure that we
were doing a whole lot of things that to this day I’m not really convinced relate very much to regenerative
agriculture,” she said. “So for me, that was the place where I kind of felt like I’d put in what I had to give and couldn’t really match the expectation[s].” Certification is a different
way to collaborate, said Chetwynd rancher Charlie Lasser, the largest SPCA- certified beef producer in BC. “Most ranchers are upset with me for going with SPCA, but I figure it’s a lot easier going with somebody and work with them to make it so we can all live and work together than fight them. Because if you fight somebody like the SPCA, you’re going to lose in the long run,” he said. “My philosophy in life has always been: work with people and see if you can help everybody get along.”
Lack of engagement Vegetable grower Rod Reid
of In Season Farms Ltd. in Abbotsford agreed, and said the real difference is that people simply don’t show up like they used to – either to share ideas or to discuss certification criteria. “One of the pivotal points was when people started making money at this. And I don’t mean that’s a bad thing. I think it’s a great thing that people can earn a living,” he said. “But the flipside is we’ll have 60 members and it’s hard to get five to show up at a meeting on any given night four times a year.” Reid would like to see people not only successful, but building on that success by continuing to engage with other farmers. The standards
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Long-time organic farmer Rod Reid says young farmers need to step up and be involved in decisions that affect them. SEAN HITREC PHOTO
didn’t kill the spirit of the movement but they did regiment its behaviour. “When it becomes an
industry, it becomes about efficiency and it becomes about all these things that have very little do with producing regeneratively,” he said. “How to maintain the growth, attract the production to meet the demand without losing the soul? … That’s the challenge, and that’s where we’re all at today.” History is made by those
who show up, and Reid told younger growers to step up and be involved in the decisions that affect them. “Sometimes it’s hard to
show up for discussions that don’t put bread on the table, but they’re important discussions, they’re important decisions,” he said. Lasser, who spent 34 years in municipal politics and later served as a director of BC Hydro, agreed. “I believe if you have
knowledge, you must offer it to your community,” he said. “If they want to take it, fine. If they don’t, then your obligations are fulfilled and you don’t have to worry.” Yet the commercial success
of organic farming has opened up a new avenue for keeping the spirit alive. With more people buying in – literally – to what it has to offer, Reid told the conference he’s greatly encouraged by his relationships with those who buy his produce.
“[Find] that consumer or
that group of consumers that will support that endeavour on your part and isn’t worried that broccoli three stands over is $3 a pound instead of your $4 a pound or that kind of thing,” he said. “[Find] that consumer and you know you won’t have any trouble. … But it’s a struggle. It takes time to build those relationships, but it’s required to make it and really, none of us would be doing it if there wasn’t a consumer base that demanded it.”
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