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!

Posted via email from Organic Farmers & Growers

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.

Maybe it’s down to the the organic land, but OF&G licensees Tony and Sally Herdman got something a surprise when their mare Aeriel produced a double delivery.

The twin foals, who are both doing fine but have yet to be named, were pictured with their mum in the Shropshire Star newspaper.

Sally told the paper: “We wondered why Aeriel was looking a bit uncomfortable before she gave birth but she is looking a lot happier now.

“Usually the mare aborts one or both foals or one is born dead or they both die soon after birth. It is absolutely amazing.”

The new arrivals, a filly and a colt, are now getting used to life at the Herdman’s Clyro Hill Farm, near Newchurch, Powys.

See the original story (PDF)

This piece from dairyreporter.com is worthy of recording as a more detailed look at what OMSCo is doing for the Dairy Farmers of Britain organic suppliers, how the co-operative sees the market and what its priorities are.

Good news for the organic dairy farmers affected by Dairy Farmers of Britain going into receivership!

Organic milk co-operative, OMSCo, is to take on all their collections and the marketing of their milk.

The deal, which was first rumoured yesterday, has been concluded quickly and is explained in more detail in this news release.

You can also read about how things are going for all affected suppliers in this Farmers Weekly piece.

The NFU is maintaining a frequently asked questions section on its website for Dairy Farmers of Britain members who are worrying about where they stand and what the future holds. You can visit the page here (credit to @CarolineFW at Farmers Weekly for flagging up the link).

There are many organic milk producers who may be looking for an alternative buyer following Dairy Farmers of Britain going into administration.

While, unfortunately, we don’t have it in our power to hand out contracts, we thought we could at least aggregate the organic milk buyers we know of for anyone who feels like it’s time to make some calls.

There is word starting to surface about what’s going to happen with DFoB organic collections in the immediate future (good news, it seems), but we’ll update on that if we can confirm what’s being said…

So here’s our list of names and numbers. Good luck!

Dairy Crest – 01372 472571
Omsco – 01934 511 115
Robert Wisemans – 01355 244261
Alvis Brothers – 01934 862320 / 01934 863000
Arla – 01737 852325
Calon Wen – 01994 241 481 (Wales)
First Milk – 0141 887 6111
Milk Link – 01752 331881
Cottswold Dairies – 01684 298959
Bowland Fresh Milk – 01200 445 856 (Lancashire)
Trioni – 01239 682572 (Wales)

Co-ops can work really well for organic producers and processors. That’s not a ground-breaking statement, obviously. But we have been trying to spread the message for a number of years.

It’s something that’s probably easier said than done, because lots of pieces have to come together to make it work, but when it does work it puts some power back in the hands of the members and should keep more of the value from their work in their hands as well.

That’s why this piece published by Poultry World is very interesting. A group of Northumberland farmers have got together to fill a gap they’d identified in their local poultry market. Two organic farms, both OF&G licensees, will rear the chickens, ducks and guinea fowl, which will then be processed on a third site, also an OF&G licensee. What makes their enterprise even more fascinating is that they’ve been supported in setting it up by “Made in Northumberland”, an initiative which is part of Northumberland Tourism.

Capital has been provided which they will repay at a fixed amount per bird, allowing the enterprise to keep its costs predictable and relative to sales success.

The group is aiming to supply the product direct from the farms and has already received interest from restaurants and food retailers in the area.

This kind of collaborative arrangement, using public money to seed it, seems to be a great model and you can’t help but think that there are more opportunities out there to meet a market, with some co-operation and a supportive backer.

The farmers in question are Angus and Duncan Nelless (unfortunately, and incorrectly, spelt ‘Nellis’ in the article) and Graham and Michael Rutherford, with the processing to be carried out by Richard Tolson.

We wish them every success and hope that there might be an opportunity for any lessons they learn through their experience to be shared with the wider organic community.

If you’re composting commercially you wil hopefully be aware of the PAS100 standard.  Having been in operation for a while now, it is under review and a consultation is in process to gain feedback from interested parties.

This is a chance to share experience of operating under the standard so if you have something to say, now is the time to dive in and feedback to the British Standards Institution.

You’ll need to register and have your response completed by June 30 this year.

Click here to visit the consultation page online.