www.ofa.org.au

Organic Sector Welcomes Australian Standard
The organic sector welcomes the decision by the Board of Standards Australia, on November 23, to develop an Australian Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce. This will guarantee the integrity of organic products.

The OFA submitted an application to develop an Australian organic standard with Standards Australia. Over 30 national organic sector stakeholder organisations were surveyed by Standards Australia before they made a final decision. The OFA application has the support of the Australian Government and the majority of the organic sector stakeholders.

An Australian organic standard will provide the organic industry with a uniform national benchmark for the production and the marketing of organic produce on the domestic market. Once developed, the standard can be used by government authorities such as the Australian Competition and Consumers Commission (ACCC), Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and State regulatory agencies to ensure compliance for organic products.

The OFA welcomes the statement by the ACCC in the Sydney Morning Herald on Nov 24 that the Australian Standard is the 'way to go'. The ACCC spokesperson said that 'producers who flouted it would be exposed to action by the ACCC'.

An Australian Standard will close the regulatory gap with the National Standard, which is legally binding for the export market only. This standard has become a de-facto domestic standard. However, it has limited regulatory authority in stopping fraud and misrepresentation in the domestic market and cannot be used to regulate imported organic products.

The OFA has put over 18 months of enormous hard work and resources into getting things to this position.

Best Wishes
The OFA wishes everybody a very happy festive season and a wonderful 2007

Best Regards
Andre Leu
Chair

Biofach Feb 15 –18 2007
The OFA is coordinating the Australian Organic Products Stand at Biofach,in Germany in February 2007. Biofach is the world’s largest exhibition of organic goods and services. It is an excellent opportunity to sell Australian products to buyers from all over the world. NASAA has confirmed that it will be promoting its certified producers. If you are interested in exhibiting and/or promoting your product you can find the information and costs on the front page of our website www.ofa.org.au

NASAA Low Cost Small Farmers Certification System
NASAA will offer a low cost group certification to organic farming clusters throughout Australia. The program is expected to support the growth of small, certified Local Producer Groups.

The certification will cover both domestic and export sales. Depending on the size and location of groups the certification cost for each local producer could be as low as $330 per year – around half the current NASAA individual producer certification rate, and an even greater discount to competitive certification rates.

The cost economies derive from savings in inspection, travel and administration. Producers will form themselves into "local" groups for their annual inspection implemented under a new NASAA electronic certification program called "E-Cert".

Temple Bruer Wines Wins Award
One of Australia’s leading organic vignerons, Temple Bruer Wines, won the 2006 SA Great Regional Award for the Fleurieu Peninsula in the INNOVATION Category. The Soil Association of South Australia (SASA) nominated Temple Bruer for the following reasons:

1. Commitment to sustainable agriculture and their impact on soil, water and air in all aspects of the production process
2. Temple Bruer’s revegetation programme and encouraging indigenous animals to control vineyard pests
3. Recycling winery waste and water using solar stills
4. Aiming to achieve greenhouse neutrality in the vineyard and winery by 2010
5. An excellent range of Certified Organic wines such as Chenin Blanc and Shiraz Malbec which have no pesticide residues and minimal additives
6. Introducing a ‘Preservative Free’ 2006 Cabernet Merlot which has no sulphur dioxide - great for consumers with allergies or simply for those who wish to enjoy the unmasked fruity flavour of this delightful red.

IFOAM Certification Conference
The OFA represented Australia at the First IFOAM Conference on Certification. The conference looked at the increasing burden of over regulation in certification systems. The two main themes were ways of reducing regulation costs and increasing equivalence and harmonisation between countries and regions.

The issue of government regulation and legislation was extensively discussed.

Many certifiers in Europe and the USA were unhappy with the control their governments now exert over organic standards and the certification arrangements. The concern was expressed that the sector has lost control to government through regulatory over reach. This is the process where the regulators continuously increase the scope of their powers over the industry.

Several presenters gave the Australian and Canadian models of a public private partnership - a standard developed by the whole organic sector under the management of a neutral, credible, standards setting organisation and enforced by government - as an examples of the best options.

East Asian Organic Forum
Participants from Japan, North and South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam. Philippines, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia met in Taichung in Taiwan to discuss regional issues. The OFA represented Australia at this event.

The forum looked at the need for more research and development in organic farming systems and the increasing burden of over regulation in certification systems. There was consensus that all countries could benefit by working together on R&D, equivalence and harmonisation.

The forum was organised by Professor Chen Shih Shiung, Dean of General Affairs at National Chung Hsing University and IFOAM World Board Member, Brendan Hoare. The venue, Chung Hsing University, has a fully organic campus and impressive organic research program led by Prof. Chen.

Carbon Forum
The National Carbon Forum in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was a great success. Now that climate change has become a major priority, the issue of using the soil to sequester greenhouse gases needs to be on the national agenda.This event in the ACT and the previous event in Kingaroy, Qld are helping to raise awareness. The next forum will be in Katanning, WA on March 21-22 2007.

Two OFA directors gave presentations on the ability of organic and biodynamic farming systems to increase soil carbon levels and in doing so increase water use efficiency and soil fertility.

The OFA representatives who participated in all of three of these events paid for themselves.

Organic Farmer Elected to US Senate
Jon Tester, an organic farmer and leader in the organic movement since 1987, has been elected as a US Senator from the state of Montana. A third generation farmer from Big Sandy, Montana, he has been farming organically for nearly twenty years. In 2005, Tester and his wife Sharla were named outstanding agricultural leaders by the College of Agriculture at Montana State University. Their T-Bone Farms is a diversified organic operation with 1400 acres (567 hectares). Tester has been a leader in the organic movement for more than a decade. He served as the national treasurer for the Organic Crop Improvement Association International, and helped to develop the Montana Organic Certification program. Source: http://www.ifoam.org/press/press/John_Tester_US_Senate.html

See www.biodynamics.net.au for details or phone 02 6655 0566

Managing the Carbon Cycle
Katanning, Western Australia 21-22 March 2007
This information packed two day ‘Managing the Carbon Cycle’ Forum will showcase emerging initiatives and innovative management practices in the rapidly changing arena of carbon accounting and trading in ‘carbon credits’ and will be of enormous benefit to policy makers, research, agency and consultancy staff, landholders, landcarers, conservation farming groups, catchment management authorities, educators, students and environmentalists.

For more info: www.amazingcarbon.com

Inaugural Ethical & Organic Fair
The Hughenden Hotel will be hosting a 3 course Organic Dinner on Friday 1^st December and an Organic Cocktail Party on Saturday 2^nd December.
Bookings for both are essential by contacting the Hughenden Hotel: 02 9363 4863 or admin@hughendehotel.com.au

Veg Out Farmers’ Market
1st Saturday of every month 8.30am-1pm
Chaucer Street, St Kilda (just behind Acland Street and Luna Park)

Collingwood Children’s Farm Farmers’ Market
2nd Saturday every month 8.00am–1pm
St Heliers Street, Abbotsford

Gasworks Farmers’ Market
3rd Sat every month 8.30am–1pm
Graham Street, Albert Park. (cnr Pickles St)

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