Organic prices rise as harvests near completion
| 4 min read
By OrganicBiz

<p>Organic wheat prices have doubled compared to last spring, says a director with the Manitoba Organic Alliance. Photo: Thinkstock</p>
By Adam Peleshaty
Glacier FarmMedia staff
As harvests for organic crops move toward completion in Western Canada with production cut due to drought conditions, the market remains supportive compared to conventional crops, according to both traders and farmers.
“It’s disappointing on yields. Quality is middle of the road, but the pricing is good,” said Scott Shiels, manager for Grain Millers Inc. in Yorkton, Sask. “There are some positives to it, as well, but definitely a couple of rains back in July would have made a difference.”
- Read more: Organic price quotes for late October
Shiels added oat and flax crops were similar for both organic and conventional growers, around half to two-thirds of typical oat yields and a “really, really, really bad” flax crop. Despite tightening supply, he said demand is still strong for both organics and conventionals and it may cause unprecedented measures to meet that demand.
There’s a lot of talk, especially in the oat industry, about imports into North America coming from overseas… – Scott Shiels.
“We’re not seeing any real give on the demand side,” Shiels explained. “There’s a lot of talk, especially in the oat industry, about imports into North America coming from overseas…I think you’re going to see some idling back because of supply shortages and what there is it’s going to be expensive and it’s going to translate into higher prices on the grocery shelves.”
Jason Freeman, general manager of Farmer Direct Organic Foods in Moose Jaw, Sask., echoed Shiels’ account of crop production (despite hearing of a local organic russel potato farmer yielding 28,000 lbs. per acre). He believes organic farmers did as well or even better than their conventional counterparts, but their crops were still scorched.
“We’re really strong on things like oats and beans. We had a lot of crops on irrigation. The (irrigated crops) were affected too by the heat. If you had irrigation, you could mitigate dryland farming risk…but there’s no solution to the heat,” Freeman added.
Royden Loewen, an organic farmer near Steinbach, Man. who has served as a director for the Manitoba Organic Alliance said while he grew 48 bushels per acre of wheat this year, rain and drought both damaged his hemp crop and crickets wreaked havoc on his alfalfa crop. However, he added that organic wheat prices have doubled compared to last spring, exceeding hemp prices. Going organic was the right choice profit-wise, according to Loewen.
“Commodity prices are very strong,” he said. “We’re optimistic about organic and the economic viability of organic. We’ve been much more profitable after switching from conventional to organic…It’s a better shot at regenerative agriculture and it’s fun working with nature than being at odds with nature.”
Jason Breault, elevator manager and grain buyer for RW Organic Ltd. in Mossbank, Sask., said organic spring wheat fared relatively well compared to other crops. He has seen significant price movement for both organics and conventionals over the past few months, but he doesn’t see much change in the near future.
Unless the price goes really up, I think farmers are going to hold. – Jason Breault
“I don’t see our prices going up anytime soon…but it has jumped a good number since a couple of months ago,” he said. “Unless the price goes really up, I think farmers are going to hold. I don’t think there will be much movement until people get desperate…I think there’s going to be a standoff (between mills and farmers) for a little while. I say it will be New Year’s before things settle down or turn up the other way.”
In Ontario, heavy rains have delayed harvests as well as winter wheat planting. Rita Felder of Field Farms Marketing in Petrolia, Ont. said crop conditions varied during the fall.
“Winter wheat, corn and soybeans all performed well this year. There were many very local challenges with too much or a lack of rain impacting the soybean or corn yield a bit. Grapes had a challenging fall with the excess rain,” she wrote via email.
Felder added that while organic prices have risen along with a surge in demand for organic proteins, organic cereals have seen less of a surge while a large organic corn crop in Canada and the United States have stabilized prices. Nevertheless, she is still bullish about the organic market.
“The organic market is very strong and well established. The organic premiums have been solid and the outflow of product strong. There are many well established elevators taking organic crops right at harvest,” Felder said.