Contacts:
MOSES Director, Faye Jones, 715-772-3153 or
Communications Coordinator, Doug Nopar, 507-450-7458
The Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES)
kicked off a new public education campaign this weekend at its 16th
annual Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
The “Help Wanted: Organic Farmers” campaign is designed to draw attention
to the need to expanded organic production and increase the number of
organic farmers in order to satisfy the rapidly growing consumer demand
for organically produced food. A record 1750 people attended the 2005
conference. It is the largest organic farming conference in the United
States.
According to MOSES Director, Faye Jones, the purpose of the campaign is
to raise awareness in the farm community that there is a genuine
consumer-driven need for more organic food production, especially dairy,
beef, poultry and cash grain. Jones says, “Consumers have been driving
retail sales of organic food up and up and up. . . . vegetables, fruit,
milk, cheese, chicken, beef, pork, you name it. Now is the time for the
farm community to step up and meet this demand. We need to realize that
there are some important economic opportunities here in the Midwest,
particularly for organic livestock producers and for those that raise the
certified organic grain that these animals eat.” Retail sales of organic
foods have grown at 20% per year since 1990. Industry projections by the
Nutrition Business Journal call for 2004-2008 annual growth to be 15.6%
for organic dairy, 39% for organic beef, and 48% for organic poultry.
At a campaign kick-off news conference Friday, Wisconsin Secretary of
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Rod Nilsestuen, noted that
the Mississippi River Valley region has been at the center of the organic
and sustainable agriculture community. He said, “It’s clear that we need
more people producing organically. What is hopeful is that you don’t
have to learn the lessons of organic farming on your own anymore. The
infrastructure and network are out there to get you the resources you
need.”
MOSES has prepared a “Help Wanted: Organic Farmers” information and
resource packet for farmers interested in making the transition to
organic production. It is available through the organization’s website
www.mosesorganic.org or by calling MOSES’ Spring Valley, Wisconsin office
at 715-772-3153.
Also speaking at the news conference was George Siemon,
co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Organic Valley Family of Farms,
the nation’s largest organic cooperative. Siemon noted the growing
consumer demand for organic products and said, “The market is calling out
to farmers, and this is a rare moment where farmers can be financially
very well rewarded as well.” The prices that organic farmers have
received during the last decade have generally been50-100% higher than
their conventional counterparts.
