Transcript Welcome to Canadian Organic Growers’ 2010 Annual General

Via webinar 12:00 pm EDT
Welcome: President, Daniel Brisebois
Introduction of 2011 Board of Directors: Daniel Brisebois
Activities Review: National Director Laura Telford and Anne
Macey from COG Island Natural Growers
Financial Report: Treasurer, Sheila Hamilton and Dennis
Medaglia, Partner, Collins Barrow Ottawa, LLP
President’s Report: Dan Brisebois
General discussion and questions from members

Acclaimed 2011
› Tony Marshall, AB
› Rochelle Eisen, BC

Regional
Representatives
› Arnold Taylor, Prairie
› Roxanne Beavers,

Returning Board
Members
› Sheila Hamilton, AB
› Lorraine Beaudette, SK
› Geneviève
Grossenbacher, QC
› Daniel Brisebois, QC
› Gavin Dandy, ON
Atlantic
› Vlad Skotor, ON
 Policy
 Outreach
to Farmers
 Markets Intelligence
 Markets Development
 Outreach to gardeners &
consumers
 Advocacy
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Organic Standards Maintenance & Funding
Standards Interpretation Committee (Sic)
Aquaculture
Food Safety
› AAFC Organic Study
› Agri-subcommittee Food Safety
Stakeholder Reference Group next round of
Agricultural Policy
 Organic Value Chain Roundtable

Promotional Opportunities Project
commissioned by the OVCRT
 National Plan to Increase the
Participation of Organic Farmers in Food
Safety Programming
 Taking Back the Middle (COG PWW)
 Regain Control of Your Food Choices:
Build Your Local Organic Food Strategy
(COG PWW)
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Hosted Farm Conferences:
› COG Ottawa Eco Farm Day, Cornwall, ON
› Conference Committee Guelph Organic Conference,
Guelph, ON
› Farmer Cooperative Symposium, Kemptville, ON
Booths at:
› Western Canadian Crop Production Show, Saskatoon, SK
› Eco Farm, Asilomar, CA
› Toronto International Farm Show, Missassauga, ON
› MOSES Organic Farming Conference, LaCrosse, WI
› Guelph Organic Conference, Guelph, ON
› Organic Connections, Saskatoon, SK

Webinars
› Crop Planning x 2 episodes
› Record Keeping x 2 episodes
› Transition to Organic Livestock Production
› Transitioning the Small Produce Farm

Prairie Region
› Manitoba Farm Mentorship Program (COG
OFCM)
 6 interns in 2009 and 2010, 20 participating
“mentor farms”, 32 training events since
2009, 5 farm tours in 2010, networking and
social opportunities for participants
› Completed 3-year farmer training project
funded by the CWB (COG NAT)
 27 workshops over 3 years in Prairies
reaching close to 400 farmers
Alberta Agriculture & Rural
Development
Saskatchewan Agriculture

Ontario Region
› Workshops and farm tours in south western
and eastern Ontario (COG PWW and COG OTT)
› Piloted transition advisor program in southwestern Ontario (COG PWW)
› Developed farmer support groups to transfer
information. Two legal cooperatives have
resulted from some of these farmer clusters
› New book in the COG Practical Skills
Series published:
Record Keeping for Organic Growers
› Two new books in the Practical Skills Series
in production:
 Scaling Up Organically
 Organic Livestock Handbook Revision
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dozens of presentations to Winnipeg child
care centres. 21 have signed up for organic food
COG ING has built its GUO project into a food distribution
service that delivers organic food to an elder care
facility and to schools. ING is now creating the
necessary infrastructure to build food self-sufficiency on
Salt Spring Island
COG OTT – worked with retailers to increase locally
grown organic food on the shelves
COG NAT has been working with entrepreneurs in
eastern ON to map the food value chain and raise
funds needed to build ‘Organic Central’- a cluster of
organic processing and distribution businesses
COG OFCM
COG Organic Directory/Chapter
Directories
 COG Toronto Annual Conference
 COG Toronto Booth @ Consumer Shows
 COG Ottawa Feast of Fields
 COG PWW Stone Soup event
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Thanks to Anne Macey of COG Island
Natural Growers, COG has been
collecting statistical information about
Canada’s organic farming and
processing sectors for over 20 years
PUBPATENT lawsuit against Monsanto
 The Last Straw Campaign against GMO
alfalfa
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