The Rural Voice, 2000-01, Page 47$4.9 million on sales of $219 million
for the year ended October 2, up
from $202 million last year. The
result will be a $793,0(X) dividend to
members ($1 per share) and�a
patronage dividend of $500,000 in
cash and shares.
John Ellison, a director from
Listowel, reported membership in the
co-op reached its highest ever level
this year at 4,306, up 60 in the past
year. Gay Lea membership makes up
20 per cent of all dairy farmers in
Ontario.
Operations at the Teeswater plant
benefited from the closure of the co-
op's cheese plants in Baden and
Uniondale. The milk previously sent
to those plants was rerouted to
Teeswater, allowing the plant to
remain open all year long, often
processing milk six or seven days a
week, instead of shutting down for
two or more months as in the past.
Among the co-op's $7 million in
capital improvements in 1999 were
improvements to the sewage
treatment plant at Teeswater. The
company also began construction of a
new refrigerator/freezer distribution
warehouse at its Weston plant,
scheduled to open in April, and
installed two new boilers at the
Guelph plant.
Though butter sales remained level
with last year at $28.5 million
pounds Jim Franklin, vice-president
for production said this was a strong
year because the Gay Lea brand had
a 25 per cent gain and private label
butter sales were also up. There was
also one less sales week in the year.
Powdered milk production and
sales also gained because the milk
previously used for cheese
production went into other products.
The company's Nordica brand
cottage cheese now has 40-42 per
cent of the market and the entire
market for cottage cheese increased
4-5 per cent in 1999.
Gay Lea's sour cream has a 21.5
per cent share of the market.
The co-ops researchers had
developed a new shipped topping tht
will soon be exported into the U.S.
and the company expects to increase
growth in this area, reported Tom
McGee of Flesherton, president of
the bord of directors.
News
McGee said the entrance of
Parmalat, the world's largest dairy
processor, into the Ontario .market
was a new challenge for the co-
operative. He also questioned the
pressure from the federal government
to increase dairy exports; "There's no
virtue in exporting at a loss."
McGee said in these changing
times when larger companies are
taking over the market co-operatives
are needed more than ever to assure
producers they have access to the
market.
Stuart Steckle was re-elected Zone
1 director. Elected delegates from
District 3 which stretches from
Lucknow to Woodstock and
Wingham to London are: Doug
Jeffray, Janet Boot, Abe Versteeg
and M. Meyer.0
Come January
Organic means
GMO-free EFAO told
Organic standards are being
tightened to ensure there is no
genetically -modified content in foods
certified organic, Larry Lenhart, an
instructor at Sir Sandford Fleming
College and a member of the
committee designing new cert-
ification rules told the annual
meeting of the Ecological Farmers
Association of Ontario in Linwood,
November 20.
"We're taking the message out
that organic is GMO free. As a
production system, it is," Lenhart
said. That gives organic farmers a
marketing tool to state right on their
label their products are certified
GMO-free, he said. This is unlike the
American organic standards that
allows up for five per cent
genetically -modified material within
an organic product. That's why
Canadian organic standards will not
accept American organic products as
ingredients in certified organic
products here.
"I've been directed to have a
schedule out in January to give the
separation distance we'll tolerate
from your neighbour's modified
corn," he said. "We want to know if
there's genetically modified corn
within a mile. We absolutely want to
know if it's within a kilometer. If it's
within a kilometer we will state on
the certificate 'Organic corn grown
within a kilometer of modified corn'.
Then it's up to the grower and buyer
to work out the arrangement."
"We're seeing an increase in
organic corn being planted." Lenhart
said. "We're saying organic corn is
grown in a definition of GMO-free
production system." Organic
certification will he a guarantee of
being GMO free, he said.
Buyers can use a number of tests
to prove genetically modified genes
are not present. The least expensive
test, at a cost of ahout $40 per
sample. is accurate to within about
five per cent. The next level of
testing costs ahout five times as
much but can track the proteins from
genetically altered plants to make
sure the sample is absolutely GMO
free.
Also as of January 1. all feed fed
to livestock that is to he raised as
certified organic, must also be GMO
free.
"Under European certification we
have to come hack as the certifier and
visit a farm the second time," Lenhart
said. "So those of you growing
exportable crops, for sure we're
going to be back the second time,
probably taking a sample and filing it
in the freezer. Testing may occur
thereafter."
In that second visit to growers of
exportable crops. the certifiers will
classify the level of organic
stringency. There will he a charge to
growers for the certification
inspections.
"We're closing the window on the
use of treated seed," he said. "We're
serving notice — in 2001 we will not
certify crops from treated seed except
some horticultural crops." Some
European buyers already will not
accept crops grown with treated seed,
he said. Check with your buyer, he
said.
There are different levels of
certification for seed sources:
verified organic from certified seed:
verified organic from certified seed
that you saved yourself; certified
seed; conventional untreated seed:
and conventional treated seed.
Also speaking at the meeting was
Murray Bast, livestock health
JANUARY 2000 43