This document provides an overview of organic agriculture, including its key principles and certification process. It discusses that organic farming avoids synthetic chemicals and GMOs, builds healthy soil, uses pest and disease control techniques, and maintains genetic diversity. Organic certification verifies adherence to standards for growing and processing organically. It also lists several organic certifying bodies in Atlantic Canada and directories to find local organic producers and retailers.

1. Organic Agriculture 101
What is Organic?
Growing food organically is the oldest method of
agriculture known. Before synthetic chemicals, genetic
engineering, and thousand-acre farms came to be the
popular way to produce food, people produced what
they needed using nature-led processes. Organic
farming today brings us back to those traditions, but
allows us to take advantage of modern society. The
basic characteristics of organic farming are:
• No synthetic chemicals. At no point in the
production, processing or storage of organic food are
synthetic chemicals used. This includes pesticides,
fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics in livestock, and
chemical cleaning agents for tools and equipment.
• No genetically engineered organisms (GMO). Genetic engineering is a
system of plant and animal breeding that transfers genes from different species
(eg. fish genes to a tomato). In nature, genes from different species cannot
cross, and this technology has not been adequately tested for long-term
implications to human or environmental health. It has been shown to decrease
genetic diversity – nature’s resilience to disease, pests, and environmental stress
(eg. drought). Organics use only traditionally bred organisms (open-pollinated
and hybrids).
• Soil building techniques. Organic farming recognizes that the hardest garden
workhorses are the bugs in the soil. By “feeding” the worms, centipedes, and
microscopic bacteria, they in turn help feed plants in our gardens and keep
unwanted bugs (pests) away. Using techniques such as crop rotation, green
manures (plow down crops), and adding compost or manure to gardens
encourages the soil biota to flourish.
• Pest and disease control. Techniques such as
hand weeding, companion planting, beneficial insect
habitat, trap crops, mulching, and physical barriers are
used to control pest problems for which conventional
agriculture uses chemicals. Combined with soil
building techniques, pest problems are kept at
minimum.
• Genetic diversity. Planting one type of potato can
mean entire crop failure if it happens to be the one the
blight attacks. This is exactly what happened in
Ireland during the famous Potato Famine that cost the
lives of millions. By planting a diverse range of crops
and varieties organic farming is more resilient to pest
attacks and disease.
What is Organic Certification?
The stamp on certified organic products guarantees that they have been grown and
processed in adherence to specified standards that the certifying body uses. There
are many different certifying bodies – some regionally based, some national, some

2. international. Each has different standards, but
generally agree on the basics of organic farming
listed in What is Organic?. FBC is certified by the
Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) –
an internationally recognized certifying
body. Their standards require that we:
• Maintain accurate field records describing the
day-to-day activities in the gardens, the
sources of our off-farm inputs (manure, seeds,
planting stock), and the sale of our products.
• Go through annual application for certification
which includes an on-site evaluation by a third
party inspector.
• Adhere to their regulations for restricted and
prohibited inputs by referring to their standards book and consulting with OCIA
regarding alternative techniques for pest control and crop management.
FBC has hosted two organic inspector training courses (2000 and 2005), delivered
by the Independent Organic Inspectors Association (IOIA). These courses are an
intensive 4-day classroom and field site training for individuals who want to learn
more about the inspection and organic certification process, and those who want to
be inspectors themselves. Most certification bodies hire independent inspectors,
and recognize the IOIA training as an integral component to skill-building and
preparedness.
There are a few different certifying bodies used in the Atlantic region – look for
their labels:
Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA)
– New Brunswick/PEI/Newfoundland/Nova Scotia chapters
Chapter Administrator: Susan Tyler
2002 Cedar Camp Rd.
South Branch, NB E4E 5E7
Tel: 506-433-3935
Fax: 506-432-9435
E-mail: ocianb@nbnet.nb.ca
Maritime Certified Organic Growers (MCOG)
President: Ted Wiggans
149 Frog Lake Road
Harvey, NB E6K 2E1
Tel: (506) 366-3410
Fax: (506) 784-6822 c/o Louise Wiggans
E-Mail: wiggans@nbnet.nb.ca
OCCP/Pro-Cert Canada Inc. - Eastern Office
Contact: Larry Lendhart
Operations Centre
2311 Elm Tree Road
P.O. Box 74, Cambray, ON
K0M 1E0
Tel: 877-867-4264
E-mail: ocpp@lindsaycomp.on.ca

3. Quality Assurance International
QAI (Quality Assurance International) is a leading USDA-
accredited organic product certifying agency.
Email: jlackie@qai-inc.com
Canada Organic Trade Organization (COTO)
The Canadian Organic Trade organization promotes and protects
the growth of organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers,
the public and the economy.
Tel: 613-482-1717
Email: mholmes@ota.com
The ‘Canada Organic ’ label — is an assurance that the
product bearing it has met the Canadian government's regulatory
requirements for organic products.
Finding Organics in Your Community
We often get inquiries from people in New Brunswick look for sources of organic
food or farms in their areas. There are a few on-line directories that are a good
place to start, listed below. Remember, even if there isn't a farm market close by, or
an independent grocery down the street, you can take action by making your
search public! Try putting an ad in the local want ads, or posters at the farm
market. Also, the certifying bodies listed above or your closest agriculture station/
centre may help you find a supplier from their contacts.
ACORN Organic Food Database
ACORN's (Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network) Organic Resource Directory
lists producers, processors, certifying bodies, retailers, suppliers, distributors,
government and NGO’s, food services, consultants, and media involved with
organics in all of the Atlantic provinces. The directory is set up to search by
keyword, narrowing the selection criteria by province, type, etc.
COG Directory of Organics in Canada
The Canadian Organic Growers (COG) has issued a resource directory, similar to
ACORN’s but extended to cover all of Canada. Contact info is organized by province
and category.
NB Farmer's Markets
Tourism New Brunswick has listed the many farm markets located across the
province.
Canadian Organic Growers of New Brunswick (COG-NB)
Provide a network for the organic sector in New Brunswick to promote production
and consumption of local, organic products.
Tel: (506) 367-2781
E-mail: herbert6@nb.sympatico.ca