LA CROSSE,
Wisconsin, February 26, 2005: 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.
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