The Rural Voice, 2002-07, Page 25farmers who can go out and speak to
meetings of organizations like the
federations of agriculture if they
would like to learn more about
organics. EFAO is also trying to set
up self-help club for farmers in
transition or about to enter transition
from main stream agricultural
practices.
One of Verhagen's jobs will be
setting up courses that will replace
the introduction to ecological
farming course that has been offered
for the last few years through OATI,
right along side courses in
commodity marketing or farm
accounting. Those completing the
course received copies of a manual
developed by EFAO members called
the Agroecological Farm Planning
Manual.
This step into the main stream will
end this year because of the
cancellation of OATI programming
but the training programs will
continue, says Verhagen.
Tony
McQuail, who has taught
several of the courses, points
out that long before OATI
came along, organic producers were
holding training sessions in Armow
that people would travel five and six
hours to attend. The self-sufficient
organic movement will find a way to
get these courses going again, he
says.
Other organic groups have also
stepped up their efforts to make it
easier to enter organic production.
Ontarbio Co-operative which
originally began as a grains co-op at
Durham and has now broadened its
scope to include milk and milk
products and eggs, has formalized its
mentoring program in the past year,
says Andre Wills, one of two
member relations representatives that
work from the new Guelph
headquarters.
The co-op has always had an
informal system of members helping
each other but with the need to reach
new producers the system was
formalized, she says.
Now a new producer member who
is undertaking the transition to
organic production can ask for
assistance from someone like Wills
and will be linked up with another
member who can provide advice.
While organic production is still
small in terms of the overall Ontario
s
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