Understanding Impacts of Organic Transition

How will your farm be impacted by “going organic”?

Moving to organic production can affect your crop and livestock choices, feed sources, weed and pest management methods. Agronomic challenges might include finding a way to control weeds without herbicides and controlling internal parasites in livestock without relying on dewormers.

Marketing considerations are also critical. For instance, a farm’s existing conventional commodity markets (such as a produce wholesaler) may deliver neither a premium price nor be equipped to handle or separate a small amount of certified organic product. Managing small amounts of products are a particular challenge in Atlantic Canada due to relatively small populations and dispersal over a large geographic region.

Production changes often raise management questions immediately-over the transition period and over the long term. It is important to examine the changes involved in organic production and understand their impact on the bottom line, your personal life and the whole operation.

During the planning process, you will find that one question often leads to further questions.

Impacts on your family:

• Will you have to take time away from your farm/family to learn organic production techniques? If so, will there be resistance from family members in terms of increasing their workload or reducing the income from the farm?

Impacts on your finances:

• Will the transition period result in a reduction in revenues or profit drops?
• Will you be squeezed by a potential drop in yields, increased input costs and absence of an organic premium during the transition period?
• Will costs vary from year to year? For example, will you require heavier than usual applications of compost in Year 1 or purchase certified organic feed for livestock in Year 3?

Impacts on farming practices:

• Will switching to certified organic methods change how the farm manages pests or weeds? For example, if weeding was previously undertaken using chemical herbicides, will hand or mechanical weeding, seeding rates or crop rotations be employed?
• If you are planning on hiring additional farm labour, is that labour available, affordable, reliable and at the right time?
• If you switch to mechanical forms of weeding, are you at a scale to justify equipment costs? Can you increase your scale? Will you have to adjust your bed widths or density? Are there options to buy, lease, rent, borrow or custom hire the appropriate equipment?

Impacts on inputs:

• Will switching to certified production mean the purchase of different farm inputs such as feed or fertilizer? What is the price difference? Does that price include transportation and storage costs? Is the input available in the quantities required at the right time? Are there opportunities to substitute off farm inputs with on-farm options (for example switching from grains to pasture in livestock).

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