A new report by the federal government suggests that the organic farming industry in Canada is growing at an immense rate.

Thunder Bay’s Chronicle Journal writes

According to figures released Wednesday in Statistics Canada’s 2006 agriculture census, 15,511 farms reported growing organic products last May. That includes those that have been certified organic by an authorizing agency, those that are in the process of getting certified, and those whose operators simply declare that they’re organic.

The number of certified organic producers increased by nearly 60 per cent from 2001 to 3,555 in 2006. Field crops such as wheat and barley are the predominant certified organic crops, and Saskatchewan has about one-third of all the certified organic farms in the country.

The article discusses how organic agriculture has really branched out into two major streams — little, with local, organic farmers at the farmer’s market and big, with the big-box stores carrying entire lines of organic products. Organic “factory farms: which are modeled after traditional large-scale farming methods are becoming increasingly common.

The organic market in Canada is growing so fast that suppliers need to look southward to meet demand. There are currently not enough organic growers or producers in Canada to meet demand. However, this organic boom has not really benefited the Canadian small-time organic growers. The industry hopes this demand for organic will cohere with the demand for local, as to keep Canadian farmers in business and keep this rapidly growing marketplace within the Canadian economy.

To read the full article, click here.

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