OF&G :: The Blog

Organic Farmers & Growers licensee Brian Amos (left) dropped by the OF&G stand for a chat. So delighted was he to be given an OF&G mug – he took one for his wife too!

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The news has just flashed up on the EU’s ‘RAPID’ press releases site that the fast approaching deadline for entries to the competition to design a Europe-wide organic logo has been pushed back by five days.

The new deadline for entries will be July 6.

There is no explanation as to why it’s been pushed back (obviously that’s asking too much!). The instant thought is that it’s because of a dearth of entries, but apparently “over 500″ students have already taken part. So it’s bit odd. Probably something to do with the person who has to put the ‘competition closed’ sign on the website being on holiday… or something.

Anyway, if you’re a UK design student this is your last chance to have your design used on organic packaging right across the EU, not to mention putting a prize of up to 6,000 Euros in your pocket.

To submit an entry, go to the competition site, where you can also read the rules. You can read the announcement press release here.

One for the record. Reuters reports that the US and Canada have reached agreement to accept each other’s organic standards and the US Deputy Agriculture Secretary apparently sees it as “an important first step toward global harmonization of organic standards”…

The Organic Trade Board has a key objective: to “double the value of the market for organic products in the UK within the five years from 2008 to 2013″.

If that can be achieved, we’ll all be cheering. And that’s not written with any degree of cynicism. A single voice for the industry, expounding the core messages of organics, is something that we’ve been missing and which is sorely needed. We’ve been talking to the OTB recently to find out more and we back its objectives. But for an initiative like this to work it needs a critical mass of members.

At the moment there are something north of 60, many of them very influential and important to the sector, but there are more than 7.000 organically registered businesses in the UK. We believe they could all benefit from having a representative voice and would urge everyone to take a closer look at the OTB and its work. And by all means let us know your thoughts here…

WalesOnline.co.uk has a detailed feature on OF&G licensee Alun Bennett and his family, of Meifod, Powys, which gives Mr Bennett’s encouraging assessment of having gone organic.

Particularly pleasing to see were the following comments:

Milk is still produced from the Clasucha herd of around 120 pedigree Holsteins, which averaged 7,000 litres, a yield that was maintained despite the decision to convert to organic production from 1998. Full status was achieved three years later.

“We were fairly intensive before, but after the initial conversion we’ve been surprised at how well the grass grows,” said Alun.

“Being organic makes it more difficult to get it right, but if you do get it right the rewards are quite good.”

Mr Bennett is among a number of farmers who can quite rightly testify to the fact going organic doesn’t mean dropping production – and they also regularly report the increased satisfaction of farming with your head and not your sprayer!

Well worth a read.

It’s not the first time we’ve heard it said, but it’s good to get a reminder every now and again that choosing to farm organically can actually make sense for the bank balance as well as all the other benefits.

This piece from Business in Dorset about OF&G licensees, Jimi Collis, and his mother, Sarah Worrall, reinforces the point, particularly as Mr Collis used to work in business banking, specialising in farming. He must know what he’s talking about!

Their Launceston Farm, in Tarrant Launceston, is on something of a roll, because Simon in our Quality Systems team also picked up on this lively piece from The Guardian travel section.