Issue 01
Autumn 2020
Prioritising Domestic Regulation for 2020
See page 8
Bushfire Season 2020 Although the bushfire season has officially ended in Australia, farmers will face a number of challenges in the coming months to regenerate their land and businesses.
See page 10
Export Opportunities for Australian Organics North America represents the world’s largest market for certified organic foods, presenting a huge opportunity for Australian organic exports.
See page 12
Organic Convenience How 2019 Industry Award Winners Organic Angels built their business from the ground up.
See page 39
Contents Livestock Advisory Committee
Page 4
Organic Poultry Opportunities
Page 6
Prioritising Domestic Regulation for 2020
Page 8
Australian Bushfire Season 2020
Page 10
Opportunities for Australian Organics In North America
Page 12
Did you know? Organic Farming is Regenerative Agriculture
Page 18
Global Organic Land Producers, Sales Jump in 2018
Page 22
US Action Against Organic Claims on Non-Food Products
Page 25
Visiting Organic Producers in Far North Queensland
Page 30
Foundations of the Bud
Page 34
Organic Angels: Organic Convenience
Page 39
Lending a Hand at Foodbank Queensland
Page 44
Five Tips for Social Media Growth
Page 47
For the Love of Fermented Bevvies
Page 52
Recipe: Kickass Kombucha
Page 54
Beauty Melbourne Announces Headline Speakers
Page 57
Events Calendar
Page 58
Cover: Lauren Brisbane, QCamel
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A NOTE FROM THE CEO. Welcome to the first edition of Organic Connect! Some of the greatest feedback I have been given during the past twelve months is Australian Organic Ltd needs to provide greater clarity on what value we are delivering for licensees to the Bud and the organic industry in general. Our new seasonal E-Magazine is designed to communicate and connect with the organic industry through content written by industry for industry. Each quarter we will share content on key industry matters such as domestic regulation, highlight industry sectors and how advisory committees are shaping the future, profile members and their businesses while providing
Contributors. EDITOR HARRIET KENDRICK
harriet.kendrick@austorganic.com PUBLISHER
AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC LTD (AOL)
CONTRIBUTORS NIKI FORD MARG WILL SONYA DOWLING RHONDA VOHLAND ORGANIC ANGELS
WARREN BEAUMONT KELSIE TAYLOR DR. SARAH LANTZ OWEN GWILLIAM
Australian Organic’s Organic Connect e-magazine is available to all Australian Organic members and clients. For membership or advertising enquiries, please contact Shari Burke. ADVERTISING SHARI BURKE
shari.burke@austorganic.com Tel: 07 3350 5716
information on topics relevant to building a prosperous future. We aim to deliver a fresh, easy-read E-Magazine four times a year to members and we are keen for feedback along the way. If there is something you are particularly interested in knowing more about please contact our editor in chief, Harriet Kendrick. Also if you want to have your pictures included in our member social pages make sure you look up our event calendar so we can meet you on our regional trips during the year. Thank you for your ongoing support as we serve you and organic industry.
Niki Ford
Niki Ford, CEO Australian Organic Ltd
Australian Organic Limited (AOL) is the leading peak industry body representing Australian organic certifiers and certified operators. AOL is a not for profit member owned organisation that advocates on behalf of the certified organic industry by lobbying government and driving awareness. Established in 1987 and formerly Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA), AOL has been the major force in ensuring organic standards remain robust and are in line with global export markets. AOL is the owner of Australia’s most recognised certification logo, The Bud. This logo is now recognised by more than 50% of shoppers and appears on nearly 33,000 products both domestically and internationally.
Livestock
ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
BY MARG WILL Marg is an organic producer and processor, Chair of AOL’s Livestock Committee, as well as CEO of OS&S, a consultancy firm providing advice on standards, systems and international regulations for the organic and natural marketplace. Organic Systems & Solutions
On behalf of the Livestock Advisory committee, firstly I’d like to extend our thoughts to those who have been affected by the fires across Australia and those continuing to battle the on-going drought. The Livestock Advisory is made up of certified organic producers and processors from across Australia representing ruminant and monogastric species. While recent rains have been welcome, it has not been widespread, and the current catastrophic supply issues with certified organic livestock fodder will continue in 2020.
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AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY & UPDATES AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT
Through ongoing discussion between AOL and the government the committee have requested the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Water look at strategies for fodder; whether this be assistance with approvals for importation of organic feedstuffs or extending the current derogation for percentages of organic feed. The committee are currently looking at strategies for increasing organic grain grown in Australia, and welcome recommendations from the broader certified organic community.
The committee have also expressed concerns over potential fraud in the organic livestock product marketplace, particularly from producers making claims to voluntary organic standards, rather than the National Standard. The Committee supports and applauds AOL’s efforts over the last 6 months to place domestic legislation on the agenda for both the Federal and State Government Agriculture Ministers, and we look forward to the discussions that are about to take place.
On a more positive note - congratulations to all organic producers in Australia! While estimates have the total land area certified organic in Australia as 35.7 million hectares, which is 51% of the world total, some more recent modelling shows the figure to be over 10% of the total land mass of Australia. The ability of certified organic livestock producers to sequester carbon and make a positive contribution to emissions targets make for exciting times ahead.
Organic
POULTRY OPPORTUNITIES.
I represent the certified organic poultry and grain production sector. Along with my husband Angus and our 5 children, we started up our business, Enviroganic Farm, in 1999. We grow certified organic grain in the Central West of NSW and supply our certified organic chickens and turkeys to both major supermarkets, small independent retailers as well as export markets.
BY SONYA DOWLING Sonya Dowling is Director of Enviroganic Farm and became a Director of AOL’s Board in 2019.
export, with demand far outstripping supply. Once the drought breaks and we return to higher production levels, I expect there will be shortages of these grains, pulses and oilseeds.
Of course, it can be a roller coaster ride running your own business, but it has been worth it every step of the way. I have met some fantastic people in the organic industry, many whom we have long standing relationships with. A particular one that comes to mind is our longest standing customer Gino, who owns and operates Eco Meats in Belconnen Markets, Canberra. We both started around the same time in the late 90’s where Gino took up our full production, gradually growing with us over the next 20 years. I feel very optimistic about the future for organics, despite the many challenges we face as farmers - drought, fire and flooding to name a few. Everyone will have felt them in some way, yet we push through and face these challenges because we share a belief and passion about the organic way of life. The demand for organic products continues to grow which is evident by the retailers I’m in contact with and with the research conducted in the 2019 Australian Organic Market Report. There is good demand for certified organic grains, pulses and oilseeds and a really strong growing demand in these sectors for both human consumption and livestock feed. This is for both domestic and
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AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY & UPDATES AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT
Gino of Eco Meats holding an Enviroganic Farm organic chicken.
The feedback I regularly receive from the flour millers and poultry sector is that there is a desperate shortage of certified organic grains. I believe this is a wonderful opportunity for farmers to either enter or expand their organic production with long, well-established producers who are showing the way that can be emulated. We found it to be a good fit in the marginal cropping areas - in the 400420mm annual rainfall areas. This is where long pasture and short cropping rotations are favoured. It also fits well in opportunistic cropping situations such as flood plains and lake beds. In the higher rainfall or irrigation areas, a good production system is the rotation between soy beans as a summer crop and wheat as a winter crop. This rotation is both beneficial for the soil and for profitability. If anyone is interested, I encourage you to make contact with AOL or myself, who will be happy to put you in contact with these leading producers.
I strongly believe the organic poultry industry in Australia has a bright future. According to one of our larger clients (a major supermarket) they see a continued demand for certified organic poultry. However, the challenge we currently face is the large price premium between conventional, free range and organic. This large price premium is primarily due to the shortage of organic grain and the escalating costs associated. If this gap continues to widen it will ultimately affect sales. We are always aiming to remove as many inefficiencies /costs possible, so as to make our product more affordable to consumers. I am excited to see what the year ahead brings.
PROFILE: SONYA DOWLING Sonya Dowling is Director of Australia’s longest established certified organic chicken and turkey producer, Enviroganic Farm. Sonya liaises directly with clients including Inghams and Woolworths. She believes it is vital the organic industry is well represented and has a united voice.
Organic Turkeys running free.
“It is a pleasure to write for this exciting new e-magazine as a newly elected Director on the Australian Organic Ltd Board. I am honoured to be a part of such a highly skilled, motivated and passionate team and I look forward to representing our members in the coming years.”
AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY & UPDATES
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Prioritising
DOMESTIC REGULATION FOR 2020.
BY NIKI FORD CEO, AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC LTD
Recent data shared by IBISWorld suggests the Australian Organic domestic industry will increase in revenue 15.5% by 2024-25 and organic farming is quoted to become a $3.7 billion industry by this same period. With year on year growth, the organic industry is out performing other sector/ industry growth trends, however within Australia certification remains voluntary. Australia has more certified organic land than any other country, in 2018 it was reported that 35.7 million hectares of land was under certified organic management. The next closest country is Argentina with 3.3 million hectares. Australia’s regulatory history into organic management began with the announcement in 1992 of the National Standard of Organic & Bio Dynamic Produce, owned by the Department of Agriculture and administered by Department-approved certification bodies of which there are six today. The National Standard was developed to increase market access opportunities and to this day remains highly regarded globally. It was the intention
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AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY & UPDATES AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT
of the then labour Government to have the National Standard adopted into domestic regulation as clearly outlined in Simon Crean’s Ministerial Press Release, dated 10 February 1992: “I therefore intend to request the new National Food Authority to take the necessary action to ensure the regulatory controls on the domestic market parallel those which I am implementing for export”. The Standard was and remains world class as stated by Mr Crean: “This is a hallmark achievement for the Australian organic produce industry which I understand has produced the first nationally agreed standard outside of the European Community”.
Despite being one of the first countries outside of Europe to have developed a National Standard for Organic & Bio Dynamic Produce during the early 1990s, Australia is out of step with global standards and is currently the last developed nation in the world to have an enforced domestic standard for the use of the word “organic”.
A product that cleverly places words on labelling can be defended in a court of law under the current model. For example, a product that claims ”certified organic extract”, despite the fact the second ingredient is Sodium Lauryl Sulphate which is not permitted under the organic standard, is completely allowable under Australian Consumer Law.
As certification for organic is voluntary and demand for organic products is growing rapidly, Australian consumers are being fooled at the register on a regular basis due to multiple standards and the prolific growth of “fake organics”. While the ACCC is tasked with managing consumer deception, its limited resources are not keeping up with the fast-growing sector requirements and the opportunists that are watering down the organic standard.
It is Australian Organic’s strategic priority to work with government and key regulatory bodies to deliver domestic regulation during 2020. We know that providing a consistent approach to the organic industry within Australia will assist opportunities for market access into key countries such as China and USA. As well as provide Australian consumers with the confidence that when they purchase organic products they are getting what they pay for.
AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY & UPDATES
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Bushfires
AUSTRALIAN BUSH FIRE SEASON 2020. BY RHONDA VOHLAND, AOL Rhonda has been with Australian Organic as a Finance and Administration Manager for nearly 13 years and is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to our history, our members as well as past and current industry issues.
The bushfire season for Australia officially ended on 31 January 2020. It was a long season this year, with fires burning earlier than normal due to the tinder-dry conditions across the country. Fires across southern NSW and NE Victoria continued to burn well into February, with rains arriving in early to mid-February bringing long sought-after relief. Our farmers are already resilient and used to adapting to mother-nature and the cycles of weather, and have plans in place to work with those conditions. Bushfires, however, are more difficult to plan for and create a different set of risks for those on the land. Farmers face a number of challenges in the immediate aftermath, with lack of ground cover being just one. As the fire sweeps through and consumes the dry matter, it leaves behind bare ground that is more susceptible to erosion and higher run-off rates; so when rain does fall, it is more likely to erode the ground rather than penetrate and sink in. Mulching the burnt ground can assist in retaining moisture and preventing erosion. Speaking with some of our fire affected members over the last few weeks, it became clear that finding organic mulch was a priority in their property recovery. To assist those who are in need of organic mulch, a list of certified operators who can provide mulch compliant to the Standard can be found at the end of this article. An indirect effect for farmers can also be a lack of beneficial bugs, as their natural environment adjacent to the farms no longer exists. Where there was an abundance of insects and pollinators previously, farmers may not see those beneficial bugs in the same numbers due to their habitat changing or them leaving due to lack of current food sources. With the predatory insects in lower numbers, the natural balance changes, and operators need to consider how this impacts their crops.
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AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY & UPDATES AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT
In the wake of the bushfires and the wide media coverage it received, the aftermath and effects will be felt for a long time to come. Many, many kilometres of fencing will need to be completed, stock feed needs to be brought in, sheds and buildings need to be rebuilt, and crops replanted. All of this will happen over time, and to various degrees for each operator. For some, the recovery is also hampered by the lack of immediate income whilst needing funding to move forward in the rebuilding phase. Many directly impacted operators will also experience longer term income losses as they focus on the rebuilding of their operations. Australian Organic has been working to contact members and clients that have been directly and indirectly impacted, to understand how we can best assist those in need. In response to their most frequent requests, we have put together some resources and links for easy reference. To assist organic operators, we have provided some links below that may be helpful.
Click Here
Allowed Input Certified Operators who are listed as being compliant for mulch
Click Here
Bushfire Appeals
Click Here
Bushfire Emergency Agriculture Resources
Click Here
Fire Retardant and your certification
Click Here
Fire Crisis – what certified operators need to know
Click Here
National Bushfire Recovery Agency
Not finding what you need? Call us on 07 3350 5716 and let us know.
AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY & UPDATES
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Opportunities
FOR AUSTRALIAN ORGANICS IN NORTH AMERICA.
BY WARREN BEAUMENT Since the 1990s, Warren has written for media covering supermarkets, convenience, catering, pharmacy, and organic trade.
North America is a major export market and opportunity for Australian certified organic products such as grains, meat, fresh foods, packaged food and beverages, and wine and had a population of 368 million in 2019 (U.S. 330 million, Canada 38 million). It is also the world’s largest market for certified organic foods with retail sales of US$56.5
Sobeys frozen & chilled departments. Choices Market grocery department, Vancouver.
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NEWS AND TRENDS AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT
billion in 2018, compared with Europe/the EU’s US$44.3 billion in sales in 2018. U.S. organic sales grew by 6.3 percent in 2018, while Canada’s grew 8.7 percent a year from 2012 to 2017. In the U.S., large grocers ranging organics include Kroger, Safeway, Walmart, Hannaford (Ahold Delhaize) and Trader Joe’s. Naturalorganic chains include Whole Foods Market,
Victoria Angove, Angove Family Winemakers, promoting Angove wines at Vinexpo, Hong Kong.
Natural Grocers by V.C., and small groups such as PCC Community Markets.
Fruits and vegetables accounted for 36.3 percent of all organic food sales and made up 14.6 percent of all produce sold in the U.S.
In Canada, large grocers include Loblaw, Sobeys (Empire Company), Metro, and Overwaitea group. Specialist stores include Whole Foods Market, Choices Market in Vancouver, Organic Garage and The Big Carrot in Toronto.
In 2018, in the organic non-food category, the strongest growth came from fiber (organic textiles, apparel, bags), which was 40 percent of the organic non-food market.
The Organic Trade Association said U.S. organic sales in 2018 hit a record US$52.5 billion as organic became mainstream; “U.S. organic sales were up 6.3 percent from the previous year according to the 2019 Organic Industry Survey.”
According to Ecovia Intelligence in 2018, natural and organic products now comprise over 6 percent of personal care product sales in North America. Revenues were expected to reach US$5.6 billion, while skin care products have the highest sales.
Organic food sales reached $47.9 billion, up 5.9 percent, while organic non-food sales jumped by 10.6 percent to $4.6 billion. Organics growth rate continued to easily outpace the general market, while 5.7 percent of the food sold in the U.S. was organic.
The Canada Organic Trade Association (COTA) announced in September 2018 that Canada’s organic market share reached 2.6 percent of grocery sales for food and beverage (Nielsen data, 2017).
Fact
In 2018, in the organic non-food category, the strongest growth came from fiber (organic textiles, apparel, bags), which was 40 percent of the organic non-food market.
Kroger, Illionois, U.S. grocery aisles.
AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT NEWS AND TRENDS
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“This is a tremendous growth from 1.7 percent in 2012. Consumer demand for organics is growing at an unprecedented pace, allowing organic to hold the title of the fastest growing sector in Canadian agriculture. Canada also has the fifth largest consumer market worldwide,” COTA said. Canada’s organic market is estimated at CA$5.4 billion, up from CA$3.5 billion in 2012; the organic food and beverage market is estimated at CA$4.4 billion, up from CA$2.8 billion in 2012; Ontario has the largest organic market; British Columbia continues to have higher organic sales per capita; and two-thirds of Canadian grocery shoppers purchase organics weekly. Albertan’s are most likely to be organic purchasers – 74 percent buy organics weekly. Australian organic companies usually visit major U.S. trade fairs such as Natural Products Expo West/East and Fancy Food; and in Canada, CHFA or SIAL. Arcadian Organic & Natural Meat Co. of Toowoomba, Queensland sends 75 percent of its meat product exports to nine different countries, including the U.S. and Asia. Arcadian’s marketing manager Paul Da Silva said: “Demand for the company’s products is still very strong across all segments in the U.S. We put significant resources into our U.S export business and always meet with potential customers face to face.” Director of sales and marketing at South Australia’s Angove Family Winemakers, Tim Boydell, said Canada has been an export success over the last five years. “Growth is 30 percent a year in Australia but 100 percent a year for the last two years in Canada,” he said. “Angove is sold in most Canadian provinces through different importers. “We are aiming for USDA organic certification and will exhibit at the ProWein show this year. The U.S has a three-tier system of regulation and you need an importer/distributor for each state.”
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NEWS AND TRENDS AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT
Arcadian Meat Co livestock manager Peter Gall at the Expo West show
Sobeys supermarket.
Whole Fo Denver, C
oods Market, Union Station, Colorado
U.S. TRADE MISSION SUCCESS FOR AUSTRALIAN GROUP. In March 2019, Kim Morgan of mOrganics led a trade mission to the U.S west coast, visiting retailers and wholesalers at San Francisco and Oakland, and Los Angeles for the Natural Products Expo West show. Twelve Australian organic companies joined the trade mission. “Trade missions attract a diverse group of enterprises and people go for different reasons, such as to look at organic farm operations or meet retailers and distributors,” Ms Morgan said. “We set up meetings that match the organic sector that people come from.” In 2019, the group visited retailers such as Good Earth, Bite Rite, Whole Foods Market, Erewhon Market, and organic distributors such as KeHe Distributors, while some in the group met distributors at the Expo West show at Anaheim, Los Angeles. “We visited Whole Foods at Reno in northern California and went to their D.C. at Richmond. We also visited the regional office and met with the buyers. And if people are ready, you can talk about sales into the U.S. We also provide a list of distributors.” Ms Morgan recommends that Australian exporters contact the retailer first, then connect with the local or regional distributor, while most companies will need the services of a food broker. In March this year, the trade mission will visit San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and the Expo West show. An October trade mission plans to visit the SIAL show in France, the UK, Denmark, and possibly Malmo in Sweden.
AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT NEWS AND TRENDS
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PYGANICŽ A natural choice for insect control PyGanic is a fast-acting botanical insecticide derived from organically grown Chrysanthemum daisies that provides shortterm control of several insect pests such as aphids, thrips, loopers, diamondback moth and others in a range of fruit and vegetable crops. Due to its naturally derived active ingredient PyGanic has a high safety profile for field workers, a low impact on the environment and a high impact on pests. This naturally derived active also means that Pyganic has a, zero days withholding period on many crops and a 1 day withholding on others (check label) and is registered as an organic input. Because of these, low withhold periods, Pyganic has proved popular in ‘flushing’ insects from a crop just prior to harvest. Insect contamination in fresh and processed produce is a significant recurring problem for vegetable and fruit growers and processors. Insect contamination causes rejections and lost sales for growers, adds cost for processors and results in bad publicity for retailers. With the rise of social media consumers have the ability to massively amplify their concerns or complaints. Recently a Sydney woman posted a video of a spider found inside her pre packed salad from a leading grocery retailer. After 12 hours, the video on the post was viewed more than 3 million times and had gathered more than 100,000 comments. In the past year, there have also been several consumer complaints about redback spiders being found in broccoli.
Used at label rates immediately prior to harvest (3 to 12 hours) PyGanic is very effective at flushing spiders and other insects from the crop for cleaner non-contaminated produce. For growers wishing to maintain and enhance their reputation for supplying clean, green produce, Pyganic is the natural choice.
Flush insect pests from your crop... Naturally
For low residue, high impact control of a range of insect pests in fruit and vegetable crops PyGanic® has you covered – • Naturally grown pyrethrum active ingredient • Application up to and including the day of harvest* • Broad label with wide range of uses • Low user toxicity • Low environmental persistence and totally biodegradable • Insect flushing effect for cleaner produce • Australian certified organic status *PyGanic has zero withholding period for many crops and 1 day for others.
ACO CERT. NO. 10332
www.sumitomo-chem.com.au PyGanic is a registered trademark of McLaughlin Gormley King Company.
Did you Know?
ORGANIC FARMING IS REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE (IN AUSTRALIA, AT LEAST).
BY OWEN GWILLIAM, AOL As Australian Organic’s Chief Technical Officer, Owen brings over 19 years of auditing and consulting experience and is now focused on standards development, market access and industry development.
OWEN GWILLIAM, AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC’S CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER, SHARES HIS OPINION ON WHAT REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE REALLY MEANS IN AUSTRALIA. With so much buzz and hype around the term, “Regenerative agriculture” (or “regen ag” for short) – what is it all about? It reminds me of the buzz and hype around the term, “sustainable agriculture” when I was at University (studying Agriculture at The University of Sydney). 20 years on, sadly the term “sustainable” has been over applied to the point that it means very little – as evidenced by the phrase in common usage today, “it’s more sustainable” – what does that even mean? One cannot be more sustainable. It is either sustainable, or it’s not. So, perhaps sustainable means “less destructive” – i.e. your topsoil may remain productive for 10 years instead of 3, or 50 years instead of 10 – who knows? Perhaps we did need a new term to replace “sustainable”, one that actually means something. Enter “Regenerative Agriculture”. It has a nice ring to it. It has connotations of an ongoing cycle of improvement. Soils can be
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NEWS AND TRENDS AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT
regenerated, ecosystems can be regenerated, indeed even rural communities! Maybe the appearance of this language, and this movement, is an admission that we’ve failed at “sustaining” farmland, so we now need to regenerate it – probably true. But what does it really mean, currently? A clear definition has yet to be agreed upon (at least in Australia). In my experience, it seems to mean not quite organic, similar to “spray free” or “biological” claims one sees at farmers’ markets or road-side stalls. But in Australia, it’s not always “spray free”. Many farmers purporting to be Regenerative are still using herbicides, pesticides, and synthetic fertilisers (albeit in lower frequency, or volumes than a conventional farmer). For some guidance on this, we can look to the United States, where the Regenerative movement is more mature than in Australia. A Regenerative Agriculture certification program
has been established in the US, and is being promoted by some high profile and well respected organisations, including the Rodale Institute and the Patagonia clothing company. To be certified, a farmer must be first certified organic according to the USA National Organic Program (NOP), and then further address two areas: animal welfare, and; social fairness. In the US, Regenerative means certified organic (according the NOP), PLUS further requirements for animal welfare, and social fairness (worker protection). This makes perfect sense in the US, as the NOP organic standard (arguably) does not adequately address these areas. For instance, in the US, the National Organic Program rules do NOT specifically prohibit feedlotting of ruminant herbivores (e.g. cattle). Known in the US as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), and colloquially known as “factory farming”, unfortunately there have been cases where consumer and industry expectations about what it means to be organic have not been met by the industry and the regulator. An attempt was made by the US government to address this issue in the form of what became known as the “NOP Pasture Rule”, which was announced in 2010. This rule requires that herbivores are kept outside for most of the “grazing season” (remember some areas of the US are under snow for parts of the year – so housing and feeding herbivores is required sometimes
to ensure animal welfare). The Pasture Rule provided an improvement, however some in the US believe it is still inadequate. With regard to the additional Social Fairness requirements, an issue of contention in the US was that of immigrant or trafficked workers being poorly paid or working under bad conditions. Adding to the complexity of these issues in the US is the fact that the US National Organic Program is not only a minimum standard, but it is also a maximum standard. This peculiarity of the US system has been around since its commencement, and it always worried me. It means that a US government accredited organic certification body is not allowed to impose any additional requirements onto its certified operators. I suppose the intention here is to ensure a truly level playing field for organic marketplace claims. So, if an organic certification body wanted to disallow feedlotting, or enforce tighter labour requirements, they were not allowed to do so. With these factors brewing in the US for many years, it is not unreasonable to expect that a new certification program designed as an addon to organic certification might be popular amongst savvy consumers and disillusioned industry members.
AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT NEWS AND TRENDS
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BUT, and it is a big BUT, in Australia, we don’t have these issues. Under Australian organic standards, ruminant herbivores are required to always have access to pastures, and with our strong labour protection laws, workers’ rights are protected. So, why is there a buzz around Regenerative Agriculture in Australia? And how does it actually differ from certified Organic farming? The rising awareness and usage of the term Regenerative Agriculture in Australia can be at least partly attributed to the release of the fantastic book, Call of the Reed Warbler by Australian author, Charles Massy – a wonderful read. Dan Barber’s The Third Plate, and the relentless publishing and public speaking of the likes of Joel Salatin. The rise in popularity of the Paleo and Carnivore diets and their proponents, including Pete Evans, making the link between human health and the soil (hooray!). The appearance of “rock stars” of the movement such as Charlie Arnott (and his ever present eye-catching attire). The appearance of local young farmer collectives, and of course the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance led by Lorraine Gordon. All of these pioneering and inspirational leaders are getting behind Regenerative agriculture. But again, what does it ACTUALLY mean (in Australia), to be a Regenerative farmer? There are various definitions around, ranging from very specific (“to leave the soil in better condition than we found it”), to pages of yogababble. The general gist seems to be: • • • • • • •
to work with natural systems to create a resilient farm ecosystem to increase or maintain soil fertility to increase or maintain soil carbon to minimise soil cultivation to prevent soil degradation to ensure animal welfare
In the Australian organic standards, all of the above issues are addressed, so when we talk about Regenerative Agriculture, aren’t we just talking about Organic farming? Although
as pointed out earlier in this article, many Australian farmers who identify as Regenerative, actually use herbicides, pesticides, and synthetic fertilisers and therefore do not qualify as Organic. As an industry, should we (certified organic producers, processors, and traders) be threatened by the Regenerative movement? Should we be leveraging off the buzz and hype? Will the term Regenerative go the way of “sustainable” and end up meaning nothing? Only time will tell. Perhaps all we need to do is get better at promoting the fact that in Australia: Organic farming IS Regenerative agriculture.
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Sales
GLOBAL ORGANIC LAND, PRODUCERS, SALES JUMP IN 2018. BY WARREN BEAUMENT
The latest data on organic farming and organic retail sales worldwide, released at the BIOFACH show in Nuremberg, Germany on 12 February, revealed that the global market for organic food surpassed US$100 billion for the first time in 2018 (almost 97 billion euros), while 2018 was another record year for organic agriculture, according to a release from the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and IFOAM – Organics International. Market research company, Ecovia Intelligence, estimated that the United States is the leading market with 40.6 billion euros, followed by Germany (10.9bn euros), France (9.1bn euros) and China (8bn euros). “In 2018, many major markets continued to show double-digit growth rates, and the French organic market grew by more than 15 percent. Danish and Swiss consumers spent the most on organic food (312 euros per capita in 2018). Denmark had the highest organic market share with 11.5 percent of its total food market,” Ecovia said. In May 2019, a survey by the U.S. Organic Trade Association found that U.S. organic food sales reached US$47.9 billion (44.4bn euros), up 5.9 percent over 2017. According to the latest FiBL survey on organic agriculture worldwide, organic farmland increased by 2.0 million hectares, with over 71.5 million hectares of farmland now organic. The 21st edition of the study The World of Organic Agriculture, published by FiBL and IFOAM – Organics International showed a continuation of the positive trend seen in the past years. In 2018, 2.8 million organic producers were reported worldwide, up 55 percent from 2009. India continues to be the country with the highest number of producers at over one million (1,149,000), followed by Uganda (210,000), and Ethiopia (204,000).
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NEWS AND TRENDS AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT
fotex Food store, Copenhagen.
GROWTH FOR ORGANIC FARMLAND, AUSTRALIA LEADS LAND AREA. A total of 71.5 million hectares were organically managed at the end of 2018, representing a growth of 2.9 percent or two million hectares compared to 2017. Australia has the largest organic agricultural area (35.7 million hectares), followed by Argentina (3.6 million hectares), and China (3.1 million hectares). Due to the large area of organic farmland in Australia, half of the global organic agricultural land is in Oceania with 36.0 million hectares. Europe has the second largest area (15.6 million hectares), followed by Latin America (eight million hectares). The organic area increased in all continents compared to 2017. Globally, 1.5 percent of farmland is organic. However, many countries have far higher shares. The countries with the largest organic share of their total farmland are Liechtenstein (38.5 percent), Samoa (34.5 percent), and Austria (24.7 percent). In sixteen countries, 10 percent or more of all agricultural land is organic. “The global organic statistics have proven useful for development programs and supporting strategies for organic agriculture and markets, and they are crucial for monitoring the impact of these activities. This publication shows our ongoing engagement with transparency in the organic sector,” said Louise Luttikholt, IFOAM – Organics International executive director, and Professor Urs Niggli, director of FiBL.
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United States
ACTION AGAINST ORGANIC CLAIMS ON NON-FOOD PRODUCTS. BY WARREN BEAUMENT
Recent action by the U.S Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Miami Beach-based retailer Truly Organic for falsely advertising that its nationally marketed bath and beauty products were ‘certified organic’ and ‘USDA certified organic’ when they were not certified follows calls by U.S. organic advocacy groups for stronger regulation of non-food products making organic claims when they are not certified organic. It comes as sales of ‘natural’ and organic body-care products are growing strongly in U.S. natural, specialty, and conventional retail channels. “To know if a product is truly organic, consumers
have to rely on companies to be truthful and accurate.” said Andrew Smith, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “That’s why we’ll hold companies accountable when they lie about their products being organic, especially when they’ve used fake certificates and ignored USDA warnings.” Truly Organic was ordered in September 2019 to pay US$1.76 million to the Commission to settle the allegations. They also will be subject to standard recordkeeping, monitoring, and compliance provisions. It was the second action by the FTC against a personal care brand falsely promoting a product as ‘organic’ since 2015, when the FTC
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prosecuted Moonlight Slumber LLC for making “unsubstantiated representations” on its baby mattresses, including that the mattresses were ‘organic’. According to a story on the U.S. website THEFASHIONLAW on February 19 this year, demand for “organic” products is growing, but consumers do not necessarily understand what the term entails. “Two recent decisions from the Federal Trade Commission suggest that the government agency is, in fact, paying attention, especially when the word “organic” is used inappropriately on non-food items, such as clothing and personal care products, where researchers have found that federal authority is less straightforward than it is for food products,” said Sarah J. Morath, Clinical Associate Professor of Law at the University of Houston. “For example, the agency has no authority over cosmetics that do not contain agricultural ingredients or meet NOP organic standards. Cosmetics are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has expressed little interest in policing organic claims. Yet, seemingly countless cosmetics come with the word ‘organic’ splashed on their packaging.”
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Associate Professor Morath said that last year, the FTC took on – and fined – another company, Truly Organic, US$1.76 million for falsely advertising its products as ‘certified organic’, ‘USDA certified organic’ and ‘Truly Organic’. “These two instances put a larger pattern of misuse in the market into perspective, one that is particularly striking as the market for natural and organic personal care products continues to grow, evidenced by the popularity of celebrity brands like Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop and Jessica Alba’s Honest Company,” she added. The National Organic Program (NOP), which regulates organic foods, lacks the legal authority to regulate ‘organic’ label claims on personal care products, except when personal care operations meet organic (or agricultural) food standards, gain NOP certification, and use the USDA Organic seal, according to the U.S. Organic Trade Association. Australian organic skincare and cosmetic brands such as KORA Organics and Miessence, which are certified Australian Certified Organic and USDA Organic, have become well established in the U.S. cosmetics market.
The latest U.S. natural retail channel data from SPINS research found that ‘natural’ (natural and organic) cosmetics and beauty retail sales were worth $US3.2 billion in 2019, up 11.5 percent over 2018. Spins data comes from the total U.S. retail landscape, encompassing natural, specialty, and conventional retail. “Growth comes primarily from the Conventional Multi Outlet Channel, where natural body-care products are up an impressive 14.3 percent to US$2.6 billion, with every category showing growth,” SPINS said.
eldersrealestate.com.au
ENDOPRIME® Goes where roots can’t With the launch of Endoprime last year, Sumitomo have increased their range of Organic Certified Allowed Inputs to 11 with more in the pipeline. Endoprime contains arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, beneficial fungi that naturally exist in soils colonizing the root systems of plants to form a symbiotic relationship. The 4 high performing species contained in Endoprime have been proven to increase crop productivity as well as overall plant and soil health.
So how does it work? Within the soil, plant roots are limited in the area they can access and absorb nutrients and moisture. Root hairs which absorb nutrients and moisture through the tops of the hair are typically only a few millimetres long. The area beyond this is commonly referred to as the depletion zone. Mycorrhizal hyphae grow out well beyond the depletion zone. With hyphae stretching out up to 65 cm. The hyphae can absorb beneficial moisture and nutrients along their entire length, meaning more efficient nutrient uptake and healthier plants. Also important is mycorrhizae’s ability to produce a carbon rich secretion called glomalin. Glomalin is a sticky secretion exuded by the hyphae that helps solubilise insoluble soil nutrients but also helps build soil carbon and soil aggregation, building overall soil health. Cor Greyling is the farm manager at Vitonga (PTY) LTD in Moree where he looks after 350 hectares of citrus trees, the produce from which goes to the company owned juicing facility Grove Juice at Warwick in Queensland. When Cor started in the role a couple of years ago, the previous farm manager mentioned in the transition that he had treated a row of newly planted trees with EndoPrime, a plant and soil enhancement product from Sumitomo Chemical Australia.
Cor Greyling
Cor freely admits that for the first year or so of the tree growth stage, he was very dubious and felt that the trial had been unsuccessful. Now however, as the trees have reached their second year of growth, he says that the difference between the treated and the untreated trees is quite marked. As we spoke to Cor, he was driving through the orchard and described the visual differences between the treated and untreated areas of the crop. “The treated trees are definitely bigger,” he said, “I would estimate between seven and ten percent bigger than the untreated. Apart from this, there is much less variability in the row with the treated trees showing a much more consistent size. The final thing that I notice is that the treated trees appear to have a greener canopy which I would expect is a result of the mycorrhizae in the Endoprime colonising their root systems leading to improved nutrient availability and utilisation”. “We all know the value of a kilogram oranges, but how do you calculate the value of additional growth?” Cor is so happy with the results from Endoprime that he is planning to treat a production block of adult trees as he believes that a healthier root system will allow better utilisation of fertilisers which should lead to improved yield. “It doesn’t take much of a yield improvement to justify the cost of the Endoprime” he told us. Endoprime is easy to use and can be applied via seed dressing, seedling dip, in-furrow, drip irrigation, fertiliser mix and other methods.
Goes where roots can’t.
KEY AREAS ENDOPRIME HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPACT:
Extend your roots well beyond their natural range with EndoPrime®. With high performing mycorrhizae strains and a bio stimulant included, EndoPrime vastly increases the foraging ability of your roots while boosting crop productivity.
• Crop yield • Root and shoot biomass • N, P, K and trace element uptake • Water uptake during moisture stress • Improved soil structure • Plant performance in variable soil environments • Soil health • Australian Organic Certified
www.sumitomo-chem.com.au ® EndoPrime is the registered trademark of Sumitomo Chemical Australia.
Visiting
ORGANIC PRODUCERS IN FAR NORTH QUEENSLAND. In January 2020, Australian Organic CEO Niki Ford, Chairman Martin Meek and Board Members Sonya Dowling, Kim Morgan, Iain Scholes and Bernadette Favis visited certified organic producers in Far North Queensland to learn more about their operations and understand how their businesses had been affected by the 2018/19/20 floods, the more recent storm cells and the long-term drought. Australian Organic also invited its members together for an informal, open discussion and networking opportunity, providing the chance to put names to faces and discuss current issues impacting their businesses. Producers in the region who were impacted by the floods reported that the recovery process will take around 8 -12 months, with many already back up to normal production.
From left to right: Sterling Tavener, Sheridan Morris, Niki Ford, Bernadette Favis, Marg Will, Sonya Dowling, Iain Scholes, Elaine Murray, Don Murray, Martin Meek, Chris Robertson.
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Niki Ford & Luke McCarthy
Luke McCarthy & Martin Meek
McCarthy’s operation in North Queensland
McCarthy’s Organic Bananas
DJ AND EK MCCARTHY McCarthy’s Organic Bananas is a banana plantation located in Far North Queensland. Managed by 2nd generation farmer Luke McCarthy, the property caters for organic and conventional produce which is supplied to wholesale market and independent retailers. The McCarthy’s have been operating in the organic industry since 2003 and have been certified to the Bud since 2006. Bordered by two rivers, the location of the property provides ideal growing conditions for banana trees. Two creeks running through the property provide a natural, protective border; separating a triangular section of space which is ideal for organic cropping. This allows for simple, natural separation between their organic and conventional crops.
McCarthy’s Organic Bananas reported that they have been affected by the recent extreme climatic conditions in several ways. Although the business is not located in the full drought area, the farm has been receiving less rain, causing smaller bunch sizes and therefore affecting volumes. The farm was also affected by last year’s floods in Far North Queensland. After heavy rain hit Townsville, the region experienced extremely high temperatures causing stress to the trees, smaller fingers and point end scarring. The McCarthy’s reported that it will take around another 8 months for the bananas to ratoon and to get back to their full operation.
“Despite the challenges faced by the changing climate, these farmers demonstrate enormous resilience. It was great to understand how we can deliver more value to our members and industry.” Niki Ford, CEO, Australian Organic
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Greg Worth checking a banana tree.
WORTH ORGANIC Worth Organic is an organic banana plantation managed by 3rd generation farmers Greg Worth and his wife Kylie. Worth Organic (also trading as Envirofresh) are now a fully organic operation and are significant suppliers of organic Cavendish bananas – supplying to supermarkets, mainstream retail, wholesale and direct to smaller retailers. Greg Worth’s grandfather started growing bananas in the Innisfail area in the late 1950s and Greg’s father continued this tradition. As a 3rd generation grower, Greg now continues to keep banana farming in the family, however converted to organics in 2003 - now growing organic bananas on the 250 acre property in the North Johnstone River Valley. “We wouldn’t grow bananas now any other way!” Worth Organic were unfortunately affected by the January 17th storm at the beginning of 2020, losing 60% of their crop. Kylie Worth commented, “We have never experienced this extent of loss from a thunderstorm. Cyclones are usually our climatic threat, having lost 100% of our crop when the last cyclone passed over the Innisfail region. Hopefully we won’t have to experience more losses this year from storms or cyclones.”
The Worth Family; Kylie, Lily & Greg Worth
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Greg Worth & Martin Meek.
COMMUNITY AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT
Worth Organic Banana Plantation.
GOODMAN ESTATE Goodman Estate is a certified organic cacao farm near Port Douglas in Northern Queensland. The property was originally owned and cleared by Derrick Goodman, a World War survivor who put his heart and soul into growing sugar cane but was always open to other options. After taking over the sugar cane plantation, the Goodman family’s interest in cacao began when researchers visited the property in 1999 to trial cacao growing in the region. A one hectare plot was selected for trial on the faram due to its good drainage, water supply and its naturally existing wind break. The cacao trees were originally planted by the DPI with wind breaks and shade trees as it was believed they were susceptible to wind damage, however the trees gradually produced their own protective canopy by growing closer together and the shade trees were no longer required. Over 10 years later, Goodman Estate is home
Cacao pod ready for harvest.
to over 2.5 hectares of established cacao trees and supplies its cacao exclusively to Daintree Estates to produce delicious Australian chocolate. A generational business, Goodman Estate was originally owned by John Goodman’s father and now John and Melanie operate the farm with occasional help from their sons. John reported that thankfully their business hasn’t been affected by the floods due to their elevation and good drainage. FACT: Green ants help to naturally prevent fruit spotting bugs and also farm mealy bugs for their sugary excretion. The Lady Beetle, a natural mealy bug predator, keeps the mealy bug pest under control when numbers get too high. John learned about this natural ecosystem from an entomologist and explains this is how most young trees survive the bug frenzy in the rainforests of the wet tropics in northern Australia.
The edible white meat (musaliage) surrounding the purple sees tastes like a lychee or mangosteen.
Cacao pods attract green ants which play a role in controlling other pests naturally.
John Goodman cutting open a pod.
The cacao trees created their own protective canopy.
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Foundations
OF THE BUD.
G AV I N & R O S E M A R Y D U N N , F O U R L E A F M I L L I N G
BY HARRIET KENDRICK As Australian Organic’s Communications & Digital Coordinator, Harriet oversees the AOL website, manages member communications, digital & print publications and assists with media enquiries.
The ‘Bud’ logo symbolizes everything that Australian Organic represents. The promise of spring, the growth of the organic industry, and the strength of nature. Initially designed by Rosemary Dunn, the Bud concept came to life around the Dunn’s kitchen table back in 1989; a logo designed with movement and growth when the foundations of Australian Organic were being laid. Gavin and Rosemary Dunn, of Four Leaf Milling, are founding members of what we now know as Australian Organic, back then established as the Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA) in 1987. Some 33 years later, the Bud logo is the oldest Australian Organic certification mark still in use and continues to represent the founding principles of organic farming. At the core of BFA’s foundation was a group of like-minded Aussie farmers who wanted
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to promote and protect the organic message by developing a set of organic standards. The BFA gradually developed its own organic certification program to independently verify that farmers were producing to these standards. Where other certification bodies seemed idyllic, BFA had its grass roots in farming – something that has contributed to Australian Organic’s ongoing growth and success to this day.
“I’m thrilled that the Bud logo is continually improving itself and has gained such market recognition.” Rosemary Dunn, Four Leaf Milling. Representatives from seven families that were involved in the creation of BFA included; Gavin Dunn, Robin Curtis; Graham McNally; Arthur Dakin; Bernie von Pien; John Greenwood; and David Williams who helped to introduce the
Four Leaf Farm Gate, Adelaide
biodynamic concept to Australia. The first BFA public event had over 1,200 attendees – some estimate to be many more. This ‘Field Day’ back in July 1988 was an unbelievable success and even had national coverage on ABC television. BFA’s ‘Field Day’ events became a regular tradition and provided members with the chance to learn from a range of organic
and biodynamic farms and operations to help build and nurture their own. Story continues on next page...
TAMBURLAINE EXPANSION FEEDS RISING POOL OF ORGANIC WINE PRODUCERS In an industry that has seen some tough breaks in recent times, an emerging player continues to forge ahead. The key to success seems to be a combination of remarkable forward thinking, the ability to pre-empt and adapt to market changes, along with the production of excellent wine. Award-winning Tamburlaine Organic Wines has now added to their holdings, further spreading their golden touch across the Orange Wine Region. The former Cumulus winery facility at Cudal has been purchased by the Company just in time to process the first 2020 vintage fruit. Tamburlaine Managing Director and Winemaker, Mark Davidson, said the expansion feeds the rising pool of organic wine producers cementing the future of the Company and the industry.
Tamburlaine’s interest in the Orange Wine Region began in the late 1980’s. Mark outlined the move into the region was critical for the previously ‘pure Hunter’ boutique Cellar Door and winery operation. “Tamburlaine now owns and contracts in the vicinity of 450 vineyard hectares and currently produces, between Orange and the Hunter, approximately 200,000 cases annually,” Mark explained.
“The Cudal winery was originally purpose-built two decades ago to support a major expansion of the region’s wine production while offering extra services to local vignerons and winemakers,” Mark outlined.
“The move to Orange gives us the capacity to organically produce world class cool climate varietals as well as the classic Hunter styles. Tamburlaine is now set as a big player in a relatively small organic pond.”
“Last year it was standing idle with the prospect of permanent closure. All the facility required were some critical upgrades, improvement of its capacity to manage premium parcels of fruit and the winemaking team. “Aaron Mercer is now Group Senior Winemaker. Site Winemaker, Monica Gray, has been appointed and is backed by a very experienced Cellar and Lab Team.”
Tamburlaine started out in an old tin shed on a modest 14-hectare Hunter vineyard. The Company is now working to build on their ‘Contemporary Organics’ vision, successfully producing award-winning organic, vegan-friendly, low sulphur and no added sulphur wines. “The vision was formed in the late 90’s and continues today,” Mark outlined. “We believe in continuously evolving our practices. Not because it appears now to be trendy, but because it makes sense. More and more consumers agree.”
info@tamburlaine.com.au www.tamburlaine.com.au
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Rosemary & Gavin Dunn.
Four Leaf milling sign.
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Gavin Dunn bearing the bud.
Gavin Dunn has been farming organically for 60 years, initially starting his journey with Keyline farming which was introduced in the mid-1950s by Australian engineer P.A. Yeomans as a way to naturally expedite the development of fertile topsoil. Throughout the years, Gavin has constantly looked for ways to improve grain production, including traveling to the USA to learn more about ridge till systems. Gavin and Rosemary’s business, Four Leaf Milling, is a family owned, certified organic grain processing establishment. Located in Tarlee, South Australia, Four Leaf Milling only uses Australian grown certified organic or biodynamic grains and implements innovative stone milling methods. The Dunn’s were also founding members of Soil Association South Australia (SASA) in 1975, and sought to create an organization that focused on farming and the relationship between the environment, animals and humans to support farmers in the region. The ‘Bud’ logo is now licensed to two of Australia’s largest certification bodies – ACO Certification Ltd and AUS-QUAL Pty Ltd. Through these certification bodies, the ‘Bud’ logo is sublicensed to over 2,000 certified organic businesses and appears on over 32,000 products. The Bud is now recognized by over 51% of shoppers in Australia and is regularly referenced as a mark of ‘trust’ for organic consumers. Gavin and Rosemary want to ensure that Australian Organic and the Bud logo continue to grow in strength and are there for the future.
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Organic Convenience
HOW A COUPLE FROM TORQUAY BUILT THEIR ORGANIC HOME DELIVERY BUSINESS FROM THE GROUND UP. Organic Angels was inspired around the time new parents Sarah and Scott were ready to introduce solid foods to their first son. Like many new parents, they wanted to give him the best nutritional start to life with high quality food free from pesticides, chemicals and artificial hormones. Over time, they noticed the benefits to eating organic, so they introduced more organic food into the home and searched for businesses where they could access fresh organic produce online for home delivery as Sarah loathed supermarket shopping. At the time, online shopping was in its infancy and they saw an ideal opportunity to create a service they were looking for themselves. Sarah’s background was in hospitality training and Scott worked in the corporate world as a Business Analyst when they first started building the brand. Over 12 months, outside of their regular jobs, Sarah and Scott developed Organic Angels which launched in their home kitchen in 2006, delivering 10 boxes a week in the station wagon. The business slowly grew by word of mouth and now has 13 employees, 3 vans on the road (plus an external courier for outer areas), and delivers to over 350 homes a week and growing. In 2020, Organic Angels is celebrating 14 years of being in business. Organic Angels is an online store offering a variety of seasonal organic boxes, from mixed fruit and veggie, veggie only, and fruit. Each box is packed with a good balance of certified organic produce with different sizes available. Customers also have the option to choose their
own produce and build their own box. Milk, eggs, fresh bread and other groceries are also available to order. Each week, box contents are updated with the best in-season organic produce. Customers have the option to exclude and/or replace up to 4 items per box, helping to create the perfect balance. Sarah and Scott were early adopters of creating an online shopping solution for organic consumers, and in the beginning the challenge was gaining trust with consumers who were worried about safely ordering online and knowing that the sourced produce is 100% organic. To overcome these challenges, Organic Angels became a certified organic retailer through ACO Certification Ltd in 2008 and have been certified ever since. Certification gives consumers the assurance that all fresh produce is sourced from certified organic or biodynamic farms and that the brand is committed to supporting certified organic growers and producers, never substituting with conventional produce. As a young family themselves, now raising three boys, Sarah and Scott understand the demands of a busy family life and wanting to provide fresh, simple healthy meals at home. Organic Angels is ideal for health and environmentally-conscious families who value their time and want the convenience of home delivery. Organic Angels website now offers the option to create a subscription order, Story continues on next page...
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making it easy for customers to ensure fresh food arrives each week. Boxes are packed as waste free as possible, using paper bags and certified compostable bags. Sarah and Scott love the organic industry and believe that as consumers and business owners we all have a part to play in helping to fix our broken food system, heal our land and bodies and making conscious food choices. They believe that collectively, the industry can make a powerful change.
“There is a greater importance in choosing food from safe, sustainable and healthy farming methods to promote biodiversity, conservation and preserve natural wildlife. The organic industry and organic businesses can be key in promoting positive change.� Sarah and Scott find joy in eating organic and in-season and also having the connection to the food they eat and where it is grown. In each box, customers receive a newsletter with a list of the produce, where it is from and who it’s certified by, to help them connect at a deeper level. Organic Angels receives weekly deliveries from certified organic growers and Scott visits the Epping Wholesale Market three times a week to stock up on fresh produce. From here, it goes straight back to HQ, where it is packed for customers and goes straight out the door. Sarah and Scott say the highlight for 2019 for Organic Angels was winning the Retailer of the Year Award at the Australian Organic Industry Awards. Organic Angels is always looking for new ways to innovate and improve their business, and in 2020 they plan to move to a larger warehouse to accommodate their growing sales. Sarah and Scott are committed to continually improve the customer experience, introduce some exciting new certified organic products and continue to promote organic farming. www.organicangels.com
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COMMUNITY AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT
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Lending a hand
BY HARRIET KENDRICK
In January, Australian Organic visited Foodbank Queensland – Australia’s largest food relief organisation - to learn more about their charity operation and pack food hampers for people in need of food relief in Queensland.
charities to organise and distribute food relief to those in need. Benita Tiernan, Community Development Manager at Foodbank Queensland, aptly describes the operational structure as, “the Costco of the charity sector.”
Located in Morningside, Brisbane, the Foodbank Queensland warehouse is the charity’s smallest in terms of size but the largest in terms of their operation – providing food relief to a staggering 249,412 Queenslanders on a monthly basis. Despite this, charities report that 4,248 people in Queensland still can’t be assisted each month, with demand for food relief at an all-time high.
The organisation has witnessed the effects of long-term drought in Queensland and have been providing drought relief for a number of years. Benita admits, “Initially, some charities were reluctant to accept food relief; they wanted to cope on their own and didn’t want to impact local businesses by accepting it.”
Foodbank provides more than 70% of the food rescued for food relief organisations nation-wide. They source food donations and partner with a large network of frontline
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AT FOODBANK QUEENSLAND.
COMMUNITY AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT
Frontline charities are paramount to Foodbank’s operations. Foodbank’s partner charities communicate the needs of vulnerable Australians and are the first point of call when it comes to providing relief without impacting local businesses or the community.
Larger or more distant charities place orders with Foodbank Queensland and organise to collect the items for distribution. Foodbank picks and packs products or hampers on to pallets in their warehouse ready for collection. For smaller or more local charities, representatives visit the warehouse in person to select what they need and take donations with them on the day.
A large amount of produce is picked up fresh by Foodbank on a daily basis and taken directly to the warehouse to be stored for collection. For example, the warehouse receives over 10,000 freshly baked loaves of bread a week – delivered fresh and warm every morning as excess from large bakeries, who overbake to produce bread to batch size for efficiency. You may be surprised to hear that most of the donations Foodbank Queensland receives are fresh or good as new; although they do accept some items that are close to their best-before date, have labelling or packaging errors, or mildly damaged goods – but these items make up a small number of donations.
moved to Queensland to meet the increasing demand for free meals and they now cook around 12,000 meals each day between their two locations. Foodbank Queensland provides FareShare with donated produce to cook into nutritious meals which are then vacuumpacked, frozen and sent back to Foodbank for distribution for free through their network of over 250 front-line Queensland agencies. The meals are delivered to those in need, including the homeless, women’s refuges, community meals programs, families and individuals in crisis, and vulnerable pensioners. Food insecurity affects all types of Australians. From families to single adults, children to the elderly, food insecurity is an increasing issue in Queensland, with more and more Queenslanders seeking food relief from charities each year.
To find out how you can offer your support to Foodbank Queensland, visit their website www.foodbank.org.au
Foodbank Queensland runs a key staples program, where items such as pasta and rice are purchased as part of a collective supplier agreement. This allows Foodbank to source in-demand staples for as little as possible. For some of these items, Foodbank charges a handling fee to cover costs, however most items are provided to charities free of charge. The staples program makes up around 1 million kilos in the Queensland warehouse, with the other 11 million kilos of products donated. Foodbank Queensland also partners with FareShare, a charity which utilises surplus food and cooks free, nutritious meals for people who need it most. FareShare have been in Queensland since October 2018 and have the largest purpose-built charity kitchen in Australia, designed to cook 5 million meals per year. Originally from Melbourne, FareShare
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Five tips
FOR SOCIAL MEDIA GROWTH.
BY KELSIE TAYLOR, AOL Kelsie is Australian Organic’s Events & Social Media Coordinator and has coordinated events such as AOL’s Annual Industry Awards, industry forums and more, as well as growing AOL’s social media to over 110,000 followers.
Australian Organic’s Events & Social Media Coordinator shares her tips on how you can help to grow your social media presence.
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One
BE CONSISTENT Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok… whatever platforms you use, make sure your branding is succinct across them all. The more consistently you appear in feeds across different social platforms, the more you’ll stay top-of-mind for your customer, client or viewer. With this in mind, also keep your name and/or social handle the same across all platforms - this will make your pages easier to find.
Two
USE CANVA Get acquainted with this free* program! (I say free, because there is a free version - or you can pay a small fee each month for the pro version). Whether you use a free or purchased stock photo, or even one you upload yourself, Canva provides an easy-to-use photo editor where you can change the look of your image using settings that include filters, tint, brightness, and more. As for fonts, Canva offers hundreds for you to choose from and even has an easy design tool with thousands of templates to choose from. Save time and money on design costs and design your own social tiles from scratch.
Three
BUILD TRUST How? By asking for reviews, endorsements, and recommendations. Start off by asking friends, family, past and current clients and customers. It shows others you’ve succeeded. Viewers will trust reviews more than an ad. It’s like the old word-of-mouth for the digital world.
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Four
BE HUMAN This is a big one. One of the worst mistakes to make on social media is being seen as a faceless corporation with no personality. In the modern age of transparency, people want to get to know your company / brand on a more personal level. Introduce your team, take a video of behind the scenes, introduce your team mascot (if you have one that is!) and get people familiar with the people behind the brand.
Five
CREATE CONTENT PEOPLE ACTUALLY WANT TO SEE If you want to stand out on social media, you can’t just copy the content everyone else is posting. In short, you need to create. Original content is king! Videos, product shots, infographics, behind the scenes images - whatever it is you decide to do original content will always trump a stock image. Post content that forces your followers to stop in their tracks. Make sure you are posting what you would want to see. Not just posting for the sake of it.
In 2020, Australian Organic’s social media following has grown to over 117,000 across its social media platforms – that’s no mean feat! Social media is a must-have tool for consumer-facing brands and businesses. Not only does it provide a free platform to advertise your products and services, it can also be invaluable when it comes to connecting directly with your customers. AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT COMMUNITY
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For the love of
FERMENTED BEVVIES.
BY DR SARAH LANTZ
With sugary beverages making national headlines for their links to obesity, heart disease, diabetes type II and a host of other crippling diseases, fermented beverages – Kombucha, Kefir (both milk and water), Kvass, Tepache, Switchel, Jun, Shrubs, Amazake amongst them, are having a well-earned time in the limelight and championing the revival of everyday fermentation. Whilst the origins of most of these fermented beverages are hard to pin down, we do know that their linage is long and their comeback is well deserved. Estimates approximate the origin of kombucha for example, a fermented tea, to be around 2,000 years ago. Many claim to trace the ferment back to the Qin Dynasty of China, while others believe a Korean doctor, Mr. Kombu, presented Japanese Emperor Inyoko with his home-brew. Still, others reference Genghis Khan and his traveling armies as inventors, and historical evidence supports kombucha’s presence in 19th century Russia and Eastern Europe. While many of the health benefits of fermented beverages are not officially qualified by research, beyond the indisputable positive effects of digestion-aiding probiotics, testimonies to the power of fermented beverages range from improvement in skin to body detoxification and reveal valuable enzymes, electrolytes, vitamins, and energy as chief benefits reaped by drinking the tonic. The appeal of an energysustaining health drink that excites the palate
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as much as the immune system has gained the support of many communities across the globe. These days Kombucha in particular, is generally considered an edgy product in a rapidly expanding global market. Australia has seen a 700% increase in kombucha sales within the last two years. This translates to a whopping 173.8% growth rate in consumer choice for choosing kombucha over sugary carbonated beverages and is forecasted to experience a further 25% growth year on year. The industry itself has an estimated value of $200 million and growing. As for fermenting beverages at home, as a mode of ‘cooking’ it’s remarkably straightforward – and borderline magical. Many of the beverages, including tepache, kvass, and switchel, don’t require a starter culture at all. The largely unseen, yet majestic, microbial kingdom just show up and transform the food on their own without any invitation required. This ‘wild fermentation’ is simply the process of allowing natural occurring bacteria already present on fruits, vegetables, milk and other organic produce to start the fermentation process naturally. No extra microorganisms are added for this process to occur. An advocate for wild fermentation, and James Beard Awardwinning author Sandor Katz argues that, ‘Wild fermentation is a way of incorporating the wild into your body, becoming one with the natural world…
These microorganisms are everywhere, and the techniques for fermenting with them are simple and flexible. They are a powerful connection to the magic of the natural world, and to our ancestors, whose clever observations enable us to enjoy the benefits of these transformations’ 1. In essence, wild fermentation is the opposite of homogenisation and uniformity. It’s a method you can undertake in your home, using the extremely localised populations of microbial cultures present there, to produce your own unique fermented foods – with no need for commercial starters or fancy equipment. What you ferment with the organisms around you is a manifestation of your specific environment, and it will always be a little different every time. In my home, the children and I are continually bedazzled by the alchemy of wild fermentation. We watch raw milk divide into curds and whey. Add the skin and core of a pineapple to some sweetened water and a few days later a fizzy tepache emerges. Beets, salt and water are all that are required to make an earthy kvass blood tonic. In fact, our family’s love affair has expanded to the point where nearly all surface areas of our kitchen counter tops are populated by an assortment of glass jars, ceramic pots, carboys, growlers and bottles of all shapes and sizes.
colleague though, just make sure they come from a happy home. Consider the quality of the water and food sources they have been grown in. All of these inputs and environmental factors play a critical role in the health of your SCOBY. I would also go so far as to find out what kind of emotional home they have been grown in i.e. smoke free home, emotionally stable home etc. I take the quality of my starter cultures seriously. Other than that, maintaining a warm and happy environment for your microbial friends to miraculously transform their food sources into delicious, life-giving beverages is all you’ll need. I promise, when you hear them all gurgling and bubbling contentedly as you pass through your kitchen it will be a deeply satisfying sound. When you know your microbes are happy, the transformations they make are nothing short of miraculous, resulting in striking new flavours, textures and health-giving nutrients. 1 Katz, S. (2003) Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods, Chelsea Green, USA.
While not all ferments require starter cultures, some do. Kombucha, Jun and Kefirs all require a ‘mother’ of sorts, otherwise known as a SCOBY – Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast. These days, starter cultures are easy to come by, either commercially or from fermenting acquaintances, or fermenting groups in your area, who usually have more than enough to share. In my experience, local fermenters are considerably generous with passing on their wisdom, recipes and starter cultures – perhaps because their microbes have taught them humbleness, or because they understand at a deep ecological level that our very survival depends on them. If you are sourcing your cultures from a
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Simple Recipe
RECIPE FOR KICKASS KOMBUCHA. BY DR SARAH LANTZ
In short, kombucha is a living beverage that is fermented using a blend of organic white, green and black tea (or blends), organic raw sugar (don’t worry, the microbes converts this sugar to healthy enzymes that benefit your body), and a Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast (commonly called the SCOBY or Mother). The SCOBY feasts on the tea and sugar converting it into health giving organic acids and enzymes creating an effervescent, low-sugar and low- caffeine beverage with a slight tang. It’s packed with vitality and goodness and tastes great too.
INGREDIENTS (Makes a 4-litre Brew) 280g certified organic raw sugar/ coconut sugar/rapadura (your sugar must be fermentable).
Kombucha Starter Culture – SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast)
28g certified organic tea (black, white, rooibos, green tea or blends of herbals)
Spring/purified/filtered water (chlorine/fluoride free)
400ml starter liquid (Kombucha Tea) (Or about 10-20% of the brewing vessel)
METHOD Gently bring 1 litre of water to the boil adding sugar as you go (ensuring to stir sugar constantly until dissolved to prevent it from burning). When all the sugar has dissolved add the tea bags of your choice (or loose tea) and let steep for at least 10-20 minutes, then remove tea bags and set the sweet tea aside to cool to room temperature. When the sweet tea is cool, add to the brew vessel, followed by the kombucha starter liquid and the SCOBY. Then fill the rest of the vessel most of the way with spring/purified/filtered water, leaving just 1-2 inches from the top for breathing room. Cover with cloth cover and secure with the cord or rubber band. Set in a warm location out of direct sunlight.
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Ideally you would set your brew aside for around 7-10 days without disturbing, but I understand how completely amazing the ferment process is, so it’s perfectly acceptable to peek under the cloth from time to time to watch your SCOBY grow and materialise, as long as you don’t let any foreign contaminants (bugs, dust, fingers) into the vessel. For the first seven days or so, you might think it’s all going terribly wrong: ‘Should my kombucha really look like this?’, but don’t panic, be patient and at around the week mark, your kombucha should have a new thin translucent SCOBY covering the surface and be giving off a sweet fermentation aroma.
After 7 days, or when you are ready to test the taste of your kombucha, gently insert a straw beneath the SCOBY, place your finger over one end and pull out. Place the other end in your mouth and then release your finger. The taste should be semi-sweet with a fermented kick. If too tart, then reduce your brewing cycle next time. If too sweet, allow to brew for a few more days. Continue to taste every day or so until you reach your optimum flavour preference.
start again. If you are wanting to expand your brewing, simply split or cut your SCOBY (make sure you tell her what you are doing and that she (and her babies) will continue to grow just to be polite).
When ready, bottle and store. Be sure to leave 10% - 15% of the tea in the jar with the SCOBY you’ll need to use this for your next brew. Drink as desired. Start off with a medium glass on an empty stomach in the morning, then with meals to help with digestion, or as your body tells you it would like some more! For your second brew, do exactly the same as the first brew. Make sure you keep at least 10% - 15% of your original brew in the jar and just
Dr Sarah Lantz is a writer, author, mother and advocate for healthy living and fermentation. She has a background in nutrition, public and environmental health and specializes in the area of child and youth health and wellbeing – conducting research at the University of Queensland surrounding Children’s Environmental Health.
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In partnership with
Event
CEO NIKI FORD HOSTING SEMINAR AT BEAUTY MELBOURNE 2020
Beauty Melbourne announces headline speakers for 2-day event in March 2020.
THE POWER OF AN ORGANIC APPROACH IN THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY
One of Australia’s biggest events on the beauty industry calendar, Beauty Melbourne will host more than 4,000 attendees, over 200 beauty brands and will offer more than 40 educational seminars to cover a range of categories, including spa and wellness, cosmetics, nails, medical and skincare.
Saturday, 28th March 10:05–10:50
As part of the educational programme, global experts will bring their knowledge and industry insights, letting us in on the newest tips, techniques, products and trends for the year ahead. Australian Organic CEO Niki Ford will present a seminar titled ‘The Power of an Organic Approach in the Beauty Industry’, educating attendees on the growing trend for ‘free-from’ skincare and cosmetics. The seminar will include a panel discussion with guest speakers including Mukti, founder of Mukti Organic and Simone Johnson, Educator at Endota.
For more info about the event and to purchase tickets.
Click Here
NIKI FORD, CEO AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC LTD
The organic beauty market is booming, and in turn, consumers are more conscious of their skincare decisions than ever. Niki Ford, CEO of Australian Organic, Australia’s peak body organization for organics, shares her passion and whole-life approach to organics, including insights into the certified organic beauty and cosmetic industry, including: • Busting myths around the terms “organic” and “natural” and discussing what they really mean in the beauty industry • How Australian Organic strives for education and truth behind labelling in the beauty industry • Exploring the growing demand for organic products and what this means for the beauty industry • The organic consumer experience • Opportunities and challenges of transitioning to organics • Advantages of supporting Certified Organic products and processes
Beauty Melbourne 2020
March 28 Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
Other seminars to note in your diary include Renaissance Nails and Beauty owner Renee Grant’s ‘From Employee to Owner: How to Start Your Home Salon’, and sales strategist Misty Henkel’s ‘Knocking Down Your Sales Anxiety.’ View the full list of speakers and the education programme here AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT COMMUNITY
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Events March 2020
CALENDAR.
Please note, these e the COVID-19 outbr
May 2020
SPEAKING AT...
EXHIBITING AT...
Beauty Melbourne
Agfest
March 28th - 29th
May 7th, 8th and 9th
June 1s
Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
Carrick (near Launceston), Tasmania
ICC Sy Darling
EVENT POSTPONED
EVENT POSTPONED
EVENT PO
Beauty Melbourne is the must-attend
Organised and managed by
Naturally Good Exp
beauty industry event, featuring
Rural Youth Tasmania, Agfest is
event devoted to
premium beauty suppliers, innovative
Australia’s premier rural event
organic and natu
products and world-class education.
connecting businesses to
event for healthy
Over two inspiring days of everything
thousands of consumers
and practitioners
beauty, the professional industry
EXHIBIT
Naturally
Hemisphere, it’s
gathers to network, learn new skills
serious buyers me
from expert educators, and do business
for two days of bus
with leading brands.
education and to c
exciting opportuniti and wellness
Learn More
58
WHAT’S ON AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT
Learn More
Lear
events have been postponed or cancelled due to reak. Please check our website for further updates. June 2020
TING AT...
July 2020
EXHIBITING AT...
HOSTING AT...
HORT Connections
Blackall Races
st - 2nd
June 15th - 17th
July 17th - 18th
ydney, Harbour
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
Blackall, QLD
EVENT POSTPONED
EVENT POSTPONED
po is a total business
Brought to you by AUSVEG and
all things healthy,
PMA Australia-New Zealand
Join us for some action-packed live racing on the track and party the day away with us at the Blackall Races. Sip organic Champagne whilst you soak up all the excitement of racing and mix and mingle with your friends and family. Get a group of friends together and book your ticket in the Australian Organic trackside marquee. Your VIP ticket provides the perfect setting that will attract racing enthusiasts, offering an all-inclusive package, there is no better position to enjoy the race day. Entry, lunch and drinks are included in the ticket.
Good Expo
OSTPONED
ural. As the largest
Ltd, industry trade show Hort
y retailers, brands
Connections 2020 is the most
s in the Southern
influential opportunity for
s the place where
networking, education and
eet with suppliers
business for the entire fresh
siness, networking,
produce industry. Remember
celebrate the latest
to select ‘Australian Organic’ as
ies within the health
your industry when registering.
retail market.
rn More
Learn More
Learn More
AUSTRALIAN ORGANIC CONNECT WHAT’S ON
59
AUSTRALIAN ORGA
The most effective way to address critical issues industry is by joining
Australian Organic Ltd (AOL) is the leading representative body for the organic industry. Established more than 30 years ago, AOL was created by industry for industry. Australian Organic continues to work on our most pressing goal on behalf of our members by continuing strategic discussion on the pathway to Domestic Regulation. Australian Organic has presented submissions to the ACCC for non-compliant products labelled “organic”, and we actively advise consumers to look for certification marks on their organic products. Domestic regulation will also assist in obtaining equivalency within the organic export market. We will remain active in prosecuting the need for domestic regulation with both federal and domestic government departments. Our Strategic Plan is to Protect and Promote the interests of the industry, and continue to Engage and Consult with government and key sectors to understand and address our industry’s needs and challenges. Over the past twelve months, Australian Organic has been using membership funds to progress the organic industry through the following key activities: • • • • • • •
Lobbying Government on domestic regulation; currently tabled for upcoming AGMIN agenda and being drafted for CAF. Developing relationships with Federal & State Government Minister and Departments primarily within the Agriculture, Trade, Health & Industry portfolios. Read more in our CEO Updates. Participating in key roundtable discussions with Government and Industry partners such National Farmers Federation (NFF). Providing the Department of Trade and Foreign Affairs input into Free Trade Agreements. Lobbying ACCC on “fake organic” products. Collaborating with International counterparts to support export opportunities and growth. Developing domestic awareness campaigns to support the growing demand for organic consumption.
Membership Structure & Fees Certified Operator Membership (Operators licensed to the Bud):
$275 incl. GST
Associate Non-Voting Membership (For any business, organisation or individual):
$550 incl. GST
Associate Voting Membership (As above, includes voting rights):
$1,800 incl. GST
ANIC MEMBERSHIP
s facing your organic business and support the g Australian Organic.
As a member of this dynamic industry you will receive exclusive access to the below benefits, and so much more.
01
Australian Organic Market Report
Complimentary printed and digital copy of the most recent Australian Organic Market Report, alongside digital copies of previous editions.
03
Monthly Member Updates
Exclusive monthly member updates and CEO updates every two months, sent directly to members.
05
Australian Organic Awareness Month
Exclusive opportunities to be a part of Australia’s largest campaign celebrating certified organic products every September.
07
Trade Exhibitions & Expos
Opportunity to attend trade exhibitions and expos at a discounted rate, alongside exclusive access to partnership opportunities.
02
Industry News & Publications
Access the most recent industry news and updates, relevant to the organic industry.
04
Advisory Boards & Committees
Opportunity to sit on advisory boards and committees and contribute to submissions, specific to your sector.
06
Industry Forums & Networking Events
Access to discounted tickets for sector-specific information sessions and annual networking events to educate and connect the industry.
08
Marketing & Sponsorship Opportunities
Access to marketing and sponsorship opportunities at a 20% discount, alongside opportunities to reach out to over 7,000 Bud Club members with exclusive discounts and offers. Begin with a complimentary blog post on our website.
Become a member today and be informed. Contact Shari Burke: E: shari.burke@austorganic.com | Tel: (07) 3350 5716 www.austorganic.com
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